Bangladesh sentences UK Labour MP Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail for corruption

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison on corruption charges.

The MP for the London constituency of Hampstead and Highgate was tried in absentia for illegally obtaining plots of land in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka through the influence of her aunt, the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina was overthrown and forced into exile during the July Revolution in Bangladesh in 2024 after years of anger over her government's misrule and alleged corruption. 

Siddiq previously worked as spokesperson for the UK branch of her aunt's party, the Awami League. 

According to court documents, Siddiq influenced her aunt to provide plots of land for several relatives, including her mother.

Siddiq has denied the allegations and accused prosecutors of  putting forward "false and vexatious allegations".

The Labour MP resigned from her post as a treasury minister in January of this year because of the corruption allegations she faced in Bangladesh.

A spokesperson for Labour told Middle East Eye: “The Labour Party and all our elected representatives take the rule of law incredibly seriously and will always fulfil our legal responsibilities. As has been reported, highly regarded senior legal professionals have highlighted that Tulip Siddiq 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.

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"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. Given that has not happened in this case, we cannot recognise this judgement.”

Siddiq  and her extended family faced separate allegations of taking bribes of up to £4bn ($5.4bn) to secure a Russia-funded nuclear plant deal in Bangladesh.

In December last year, the Bangladeshi High Court heard claims that Siddiq may have helped her aunt "broker" a £10bn ($13.23bn) deal for a nuclear power plant built in Bangladesh by a Russian state-backed company, Rosatom.

Mass protests against Hasina's rule in 2024 led to the killing of more than 200 protesters by Bangladeshi security forces and the eventual collapse of Hasina's rule in the country.

The ousted prime minister had led Bangladesh since 2009 and had a previous stint in the role between 1996 and 2001.