"A court in Dhaka has sentenced former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia to five years in prison and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq to two, for corruption in a case involving the acquisition of plots of land. Rabiul Alam, the judge of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court, said on Monday that Hasina who has lived in exile in India since being toppled in an uprising last year misused her power as premier in the transaction."
"Siddiq, an MP for the United Kingdom's governing Labour party, was found guilty of corruptly influencing Hasina to help her mother Sheikh Rehana, Hasina's sister and two siblings acquire the plot in a government project in Dhaka. Rehana, who is reportedly no longer based in Bangladesh, was sentenced to seven years in prison in absentia, with the trio also fined 100,000 taka ($820) each, which would result in an additional six months in prison if they failed to pay, the court said."
"Khan Mainul Hasan, prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission, said his team had details of Siddiq's correspondence with Salahuddin Ahmed, Hasina's principal secretary, exposing her role in the case, the AFP news agency reported. 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 [Ahmed], communicated via some encrypted apps, and even met him while she was in Dhaka."
A Dhaka court convicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia and sentenced her to five years for corruption over a land acquisition. British MP Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to two years for corruptly influencing Hasina to help her mother Sheikh Rehana and two siblings secure a government plot; Rehana received seven years. The court fined each of the trio 100,000 taka, with an added six months if fines are unpaid. Fourteen others received five-year sentences. Prosecutors cited Siddiq's correspondence and meetings with Salahuddin Ahmed and encrypted communications. Hasina and Siddiq declined legal representation and called the charges politically motivated. Hasina remains in exile in India and had recently faced a separate death sentence in absentia for crimes against humanity related to last year’s protest crackdown.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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