A LABOUR MP has been sentenced to jail in Bangladesh over corruption charges.
Tulip Siddiq, 43, was slapped with a two-year prison term just weeks after her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the country’s ousted prime minister, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.
Siddiq was found guilty of abusing her status as Hasina’s niece to secure a plot of land in the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
As the sitting MP for Hampstead and Highgate, Siddiq has always strongly denied the charges, and is unlikely to serve the sentence.
She is based in London and was not present for the sentencing, and continues to face a number of outstanding charges in Bangladesh.
Hasina, 78, was removed from power last year, and since then prosecutors have launched a number wide-ranging legal cases against the former leader and her associates.
Two weeks ago, Hasina was handed the sentence after being found guilty on three counts – including crimes against humanity, ordering to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities.
A Bangladeshi court found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising which in July and August 2024.
A judge found that “all the elements… constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled”.
The trial involving Siddiq – who quit as a Treasury minister in January over controversy around her ties to her aunt – has been playing out in Dhaka since August.
Court documents claimed she “forced and influenced her aunt and the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina using her special power to secure [a plot of land]” for other family members over there.
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