Bangladesh's ex-leader Hasina and niece, British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, found guilty of corruption
Siqqiq has called the Bangladeshi court process "flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end."
Tulip Siddiq, left, stands beside Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Jan 15, 2013. (Photo: AP/Mikhail Metzel)
DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh’s capital on Monday (Dec 1) sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece, British Labour Party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, to two years in prison for corruption involving a government land project.
Rabiul Alam, the judge of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court, said Hasina misused her power as prime minister while Siddiq was guilty of corruptly influencing her aunt in helping her mother get a piece of land in a government project.
Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, was given seven years in prison and was considered the prime participant in the case.
It involved the Purbachal New Town project in a suburb of Dhaka.
Hasina has been in exile in India since she was ousted by a mass uprising last year.
The trial and others against her were conducted in absentia.
SIDDIQ DENIES ALLEGATIONS
Siddiq, who serves in the British Parliament for Hampstead and Highgate in London, said the verdict should be treated with contempt.
"This whole process has been flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end. The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified," she told Britain's Guardian newspaper on Monday.
Siddiq resigned as Britain's minister responsible for financial services and anti-corruption efforts in January after scrutiny over her financial ties to Hasina but she remains a member of parliament.
She has previously dismissed the allegations as a "politically motivated smear".
