Labour MP in Britain, and former minister, Tulip Siddiq has been awarded 2 years jail sentence in Bangladesh as the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government continues to crack down on Sheikh Hasina, her relatives, and her supporters. Sheikh Hasina is the aunt of Tulip Siddiq.
Tulip was put on trial in her absence alongside 16 other people over corruption allegations. However, she is not going to serve the sentence.
In the same case, her aunt and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana were also sentenced to 5 years and 7 years respectively.
Tulip Siddiq has been found guilty of influencing her aunt Sheikh Hasina to secure a plot of land for her family in the outskirts of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. She has denied all charges.
Tulip is the sitting MP for Hampstead and Highgate in Britain. She further faces a number of outstanding criminal charges in Bangladesh.
Ever since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as the Prime Minister last year, she, her party members, and her supporters have faced persecution at the hands of the Yunus government. A number of cases targeting them have been filed and verdicts against them have been pronounced.
Notably, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death last month in a case over alleged crimes against humanity. The crimes were said to have been committed during last year’s agitation which led to her ouster as the PM of the country.
That verdict was also announced in-absentia as Sheikh Hasina has been living in India after her ouster as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
