Dhaka: A Bangladesh court on Monday convicted and sentenced deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to five years of imprisonment and her niece, British parliamentarian Tulip Siddiq, to a two-year jail term in a land scam case.
Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka also handed down a seven-year jail term to Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, in the corruption case lodged against 17 people. The court handed down the verdict in a packed courtroom in the absence of the three accused.
The 14 other accused are former government officials who were handed down a five-year prison term each, but only one of them was in jail and faced the trial in person. The court also imposed a fine of Tk 1 lakh each on all 17 convicts, including Hasina, Rehana, and Siddiq, failing which they will have to serve an additional six months in jail.