In a land scam case, a Bangladeshi court finds former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her niece, and British MP Tulip Siddiq guilty.

In a land-scam case, a Bangladeshi court sentenced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison on Monday.Additionally, the court sentenced her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, to two years in prison and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, to seven years. The Daily Star covered the case.

Judge Md. Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 in Dhaka rendered the decision.

According to the report, Hasina has been found guilty in four graft cases brought before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).Between January 12 and 14, the ACC filed six different cases with its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 regarding purported irregularities in the Purbachal New Town project's plot allocation.

The anti-graft body claims that Hasina illegally obtained six plots, each measuring 10 kathas (7,200 square feet), in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town project for herself and her relatives, including her daughter Saima Wazed Putul and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, despite their ineligibility under current regulations, in cooperation with senior Rajuk officials, according to The Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

29 people, including Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul, and Tulip Siddiq, were officially charged on July 31. A separate ruling on November 27 sentenced Joy and Putul to five years in prison each, while Hasina received a rigorous 21-year sentence (seven years for each of three previous Purbachal-plot scam cases).

According to local media, Hasina was given a 21-year prison sentence in three corruption cases by a Bangladeshi court. The three cases were brought about alleged irregularities in the distribution of plots in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol, according to the state-run BSS news agency.

Since the accused had not yet been taken into custody and had been tried in absentia, the judge rendered the decision without the accused present. Hasina was sentenced to seven years in prison in each of the three cases, for a total of twenty-one years. The court noted in its ruling that "the plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorized jurisdiction."

Sheikh Hasina has already been given the death penalty by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity connected to the anti-government demonstrations in July 2024.

Due to their hiding, Hasina and her family were not represented by an attorney during the proceedings. However, in a number of speeches and public declarations, they have consistently denied any allegations of corruption.

A student-led uprising against Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister at the time, began in July 2024. On August 5, she left the nation and sought safety in India. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus established an interim government after she left.