DHAKA: A Bangladesh court sentenced Sheikh Rehana, sister of former premier Sheikh Hasina, to seven years in prison on Monday for corruption in a case involving the grabbing of lucrative plots in the capital.
Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq, who is a British lawmaker, was handed a two-year sentence in the same case, said Khan Mainul Hasan, prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Hasina, who was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity last month, and 14 other government officials were condemned to five years of imprisonment.
The 78-year-old former premier has sought refuge in India since her ouster last year following a student-led uprising, but Rehana’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Siddiq, who resigned as British anti-corruption minister in January after being named in graft probes in Bangladesh, called the trial “flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end”.
Hasan said the commission had details of Siddiq’s correspondence with Salahuddin Ahmed, the principal secretary to the then prime minister, exposing her role in the case.
“Tulip insisted that her aunt Sheikh Hasina allocate plots for her mother and siblings, as she herself took three — one for her and two for her children,” Hasan said.
“She called him (Ahmed), communicated via some encrypted apps, and even met him while she was in Dhaka.” Judge Rabiul Alam quoted verses from the Quran as he read out the judgement.
“The court has full authority to try any Bangladeshi, whether the person is in the country or abroad,” he said.
Hasina decried the latest verdict in a statement on Monday.
“No country is free from corruption. But corruption needs to be investigated in a way that is not itself corrupt. The ACC has failed that test today,” she said.
The interim government in Bangladesh would formally notify British authorities about Siddiq’s verdict, prosecutors said.
Siddiq, 43, said she refused to be “distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh”.
“The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified,” she said in a statement.
“I hope this so-called ‘verdict’ will be treated with the contempt it deserves.” Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, and violence has marred campaigning for elections slated for February 2026.
A spokesperson for her Labour Party said Siddiq did not get access to a fair legal process in the case and had not been informed of the details of the charges against her.
“Anyone facing any charge should always be afforded the right to make legal representations when allegations are made against them. Given that has not happened in this case, we cannot recognise this judgment,” the spokesperson said.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power.
Prosecutors in the latest case said the land in the capital Dhaka, measuring roughly 13,610 square feet (1,264 square metres), was unlawfully allocated through political influence and collusion with senior officials.
They said the three powerful defendants, Siddiq, Hasina, and Rehana, abused their authority to secure the plot during Hasina’s tenure as prime minister.
All three were fined 100,000 taka ($820) each, and failure to pay will result in an additional six months in prison, the court said.
The land was supposed to be used for a new township to ease housing and population pressure in Dhaka, the court heard.
Fourteen other people also charged in the case were sentenced to five years in prison.
Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2025
