A Bangladesh court has sentenced British MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison over allegations connected to the unlawful allocation of a plot of land, according to local media reports. The ruling was issued in absentia, as Siddiq and her co-accused — former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana — were not present in court.
Hasina received a five-year sentence, while Rehana was handed a seven-year term. The case centres on accusations that the plot, measuring about 13,610 square feet, was allocated through political influence and collusion with senior officials during Hasina’s tenure as prime minister. Prosecutors say the trio abused their authority to secure the land.
Hasina, who fled to India in August 2024 during a popular uprising against her government, has faced multiple convictions in recent months. She was sentenced to death last month over the violent crackdown on protestors and received a combined 21-year prison sentence last week in separate graft cases.
Siddiq, who resigned earlier this year as the UK minister overseeing financial services and anti-corruption policy amid scrutiny of her financial links to Hasina, has called the allegations a politically motivated smear. Most of the 17 individuals charged in the case were not present when the verdict was delivered.
The UK does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, making it unclear whether Siddiq could face enforcement of the ruling.
