Tulip Siddiq, a Labour MP representing Hampstead and Highgate, has been handed a two-year prison sentence in Bangladesh after being convicted in a corruption case tried entirely in her absence. Siddiq, who lives and works in London, has strongly denied all allegations and is unlikely to serve the sentence.
The case is one of several brought against Siddiq and members of her extended family following the fall of her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Since Hasina’s government was ousted in July 2024, prosecutors have launched multiple investigations targeting her allies, relatives and former officials. Siddiq resigned as a UK Treasury minister earlier this year due to scrutiny over her family ties.
According to court documents, Siddiq was accused of using her “special influence” over Hasina to help her mother, sister and brother obtain a plot of land on the outskirts of Dhaka. Siddiq maintains she had no involvement, and her legal team disputes the claim that she holds Bangladeshi citizenship. Authorities, however, said they obtained her Bangladeshi passport, tax number and ID. Her lawyers say she has not possessed any Bangladeshi documentation since childhood.
Judge Rabiul Alam sentenced her to two years in prison and imposed a fine of 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka. Failure to pay would add an extra six months to the term. Siddiq has argued that she has never been formally presented with the evidence or charges and described the case as politically motivated.
The Labour Party in the UK has rejected the judgment, saying Siddiq was denied a fair process. Senior British legal figures—including Dominic Grieve, Robert Buckland, and Cherie Blair—have also criticised the trial, calling it contrived and unfair. They noted that Siddiq was unable to secure proper legal representation in Bangladesh.
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Siddiq still faces additional charges, including cases related to property transfers and allegations linked to a 2013 nuclear power project deal. She has denied all wrongdoing.
Her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, was herself sentenced to death in a separate trial earlier this month over alleged crimes against humanity during the protests that led to her ousting. Hasina has rejected the charges and remains in exile in India.