Tulip terms trial ‘flawed, farcical’
Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her niece Tulip Siddiq, a Labour MP in the UK, were yesterday sentenced in absentia to varying jail terms over corruption in the allocation of Purbachal plots.
Hasina, now in India, was sentecned to five years' imprisonment; Rehana seven years; and Tulip, the MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London, was given two years in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Judge Md Rabiul Alam of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court-4 found the 78-year-old Awami League chief guilty of abusing her power to illegally secure a Purbachal plot for Rehana, despite Rehana being ineligible.
Tulip was found guilty of influencing and persuading Hasina to secure the plot for Rehana.
"Corruption has turned into a disease… It has engulfed the entire society," the judge said, urging collective resistance. He explained that for fugitive accused in cases with no death penalty, there is no provision for appointing a state defence lawyer.
Yesterday's sentence came four days after Hasina was handed 21 years' rigorous imprisonment by a special court in three other cases tied to the Purbachal scam. These included two cases, in which her daughter Saima Wazed Putul and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy were co-accused and were each sentenced to five years.
Judge Rabiul yesterday began delivering the verdict at 11:30am in a packed courtroom under tight security. The court ordered Rajuk to cancel Rehana's plot allocation and sentenced 14 others to five years' imprisonment under section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. The list includes former state minister for housing and public works Sharif Ahmed and several former government and Rajuk officials.
All 17 convicts, including Hasina, Rehana, and Tulip, were fined Tk 1 lakh each, with an additional six months' imprisonment in case of default.
ACC Public Prosecutor Khan Md Moinul Hasan Lipon said the verdict fell short of prosecution expectations. "We will talk to the commission [ACC] for further steps about it," he said.
Only former Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam was present during the verdict. His lawyer Mohammad Shaheenoor Islam declined to comment.
Two additional graft cases against 21 people, including Hasina, nieces Azmina Siddiq and Tulip, and nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, are pending at the same court, with verdicts expected in January.
The ruling follows a series of legal blows for Hasina.
On November 17, she was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 for crimes against humanity committed during last year's July uprising. Ousted on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass movement, she remains accused in over 550 cases nationwide, excluding the corruption charges.
'FLAWED AND FARCICAL'
Tulip Siddiq told The Guardian that the ruling "deserves contempt" and called the entire process "flawed and farcical". She said the outcome of the "kangaroo court" was predictable and politically motivated, adding that she would not be distracted from her duties to her constituents.
The Guardian noted that the UK has no extradition treaty with Bangladesh, making it unlikely Tulip will serve the sentence. A Labour Party spokesperson said the party does not recognise the judgment, arguing Tulip was denied due process and was never informed of the charges despite repeated requests through her legal team.
"Anyone facing any charge should always be afforded the right to make legal representations when allegations are made against them," the spokesperson said. "Given that has not happened in this case, we cannot recognise this judgment."
While talking to Sky News, Tulip said she still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities, despite them "spreading malicious allegations about me for a year-and-a-half now".
"I've had no correspondence from them - I'm not difficult to find, I'm a parliamentarian," she said.
"The allegation that I've been convicted for states that I, when I was an opposition member of parliament here in Britain, used my political influence over my aunt who was then the prime minister of Bangladesh to convince her or I suppose force her to allow my mother who is her sister to purchase a plot of land in some random place in Bangladesh.
"Just to look at the allegation itself for a minute: I exerted influence over the prime minister of Bangladesh as an opposition MP here in Britain to gain some benefit for my mother…. My aunt is twice as old as me. She is 10 times more powerful than me. She has been in politics longer than I've been alive," she said.
"I want to see the evidence of how I influenced the prime minister in order to get this verdict," she added.
Last week, a group of prominent British lawyers and former cabinet ministers wrote an open letter raising "profound concerns" over Tulip's trial in Bangladesh, reported Sky News.
Barrister Cherie Blair, who is married to ex-prime minister Tony Blair; Sir Robert Buckland, who served as justice secretary; and Dominic Grieve, an ex-attorney general, wrote that the criminal proceedings against Tulip were "artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution".
OTHER ACCUSED
Alongside Hasina, Rehana, Tulip, Sharif Ahmed, and Khurshid Alam, the other convicts include former secretary Kazi Washi Uddin; former additional secretary Md Oliullah; former administrative officer Saiful Islam Sarkar; former senior assistant secretary Purabi Goldar; Rajuk's former chairman Anisur Rahman Miah; former Rajuk members Tanmoy Das, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Shamsuddin Ahmod Chowdhury, and Nurul Islam; former deputy director Nayeb Ali Sharif; former assistant director Mazharul Islam; and former PMO secretary Mohammad Salahuddin.
THE CASE
The ACC filed six cases in January with its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 over alleged irregularities in the Purbachal New Town project.
It accused Hasina of colluding with senior Rajuk officials to unlawfully secure six 10-katha plots in the Sector 27 diplomatic zone for herself, her daughter, son, Rehana, Bobby, and Azmina, despite their being ineligible under existing regulations.
Chargesheets were filed on March 25 with the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court, naming Hasina as a common accused in all six cases.
Charges were framed on July 31 against 29 individuals, including Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul, Bobby, Tulip, and Azmina, in their respective cases.
