UK MP Tulip Siddiq Condemns "Unjustified" Two-Year Sentence in Bangladesh Corruption Trial

London:

Tulip Siddiq, the 43-year-old niece of Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and a Labour Party MP in the UK, has strongly denounced her two-year imprisonment sentence delivered by an anti-corruption tribunal in Bangladesh as "unjustified" following a trial conducted in her absence.

Earlier this year, Siddiq resigned from her position as Treasury minister in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Cabinet when corruption allegations against her family gained global attention.

Responding to the verdict from Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) trial in Dhaka, Siddiq stated: "The whole process has been flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end."

She further condemned the proceedings, saying, "The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified. I hope this so-called 'verdict' will be treated with the contempt it deserves. My focus has always been my constituents in Hampstead and Highgate, and I refuse to be distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh."

Last week, prominent UK legal professionals, including Cherie Blair (wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair), ex-ministers Robert Buckland and Dominic Grieve, expressed concerns in a letter to Bangladesh's High Commissioner to the UK Abida Islam regarding the "unfair and contrived" nature of the trial.

Siddiq has consistently rejected all charges against her, describing herself as "collateral damage" in the campaign against Sheikh Hasina by the new Bangladesh government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. She has dismissed the trial as being founded on "fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta."

In her January resignation letter to Prime Minister Starmer, Siddiq highlighted that the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests had not found her in violation of the UK's Ministerial Code and maintained that she had not "acted improperly."

The cross-party legal experts' letter emphasized difficulties in reconciling widespread media coverage in Bangladesh accusing Siddiq of criminal wrongdoing with "a fair and impartial trial free from interference."

"Given all of the circumstances, we have serious concerns that the trial of Ms Siddiq in absentia is unfair, that she does not have a proper opportunity of defending herself, or indeed any opportunity at all, that she is being tried in her absence without justification and that the proceedings fall far short of standards of fairness recognised internationally," the experts wrote.

Siddiq had expressed gratitude for this support while warning that the "flawed" system "seems set to convict me."

Judge Rabiul Alam sentenced her to two years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka (approximately £620). Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months added to her prison sentence.

A Labour Party spokesperson defended Siddiq, stating she "has not had access to a fair legal process in this case and has never been informed of the details of the charges against her."

"This is despite repeated requests made to the Bangladeshi authorities 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 added.

Meanwhile, her aunt Sheikh Hasina received a combined 21-year prison sentence in corruption cases last week.