Corruption case turmoil deepened in Bangladesh after a Dhaka court sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq. The Anti-Corruption Commission brought charges linked to plot allocations in the Purbachal New Town Project.
The court gave Hasina a five-year jail term. It handed Rehana seven years. Siddiq received a two-year sentence. She earlier criticised Bangladesh’s legal system and called herself “collateral damage” in a political fight.
The Awami League dismissed the verdicts and accused the ACC of acting as a political weapon. Party leaders said the commission ignored evidence and denied proper legal rights to the accused. They argued that international legal experts also questioned the fairness of the trials.
Hasina already faces heavy penalties. Last month, another Dhaka court sentenced her to 21 years in three separate corruption cases. On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal also issued a death sentence for her and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in a separate case.
The ACC filed six corruption cases in January. The charges also name Hasina’s children, Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul. The Awami League claimed Interim Government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is using the ACC to hide governance failures.
