Labour MP Tulip Siddiq Receives Four-Year Prison Sentence from Bangladeshi Court
Former City Minister Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment by a court in her native Bangladesh. The ruling was delivered on Monday in absentia, with the Dhaka Special Judge Court finding her guilty of allegedly attempting to acquire plots of land for family members within an exclusive residential development.
Family Members Also Convicted in Land Acquisition Case
In the same proceedings, Ms Siddiq's Oxford-educated younger sister Azmina, aged 34, and her elder brother Radwan, 45, each received seven-year prison sentences. Both siblings, who reside in Britain, were convicted of illegally acquiring approximately one-third of an acre of land each within the Purbachal New Town Project area of Dhaka, where they had planned to construct apartments.
The court heard allegations that Ms Siddiq used her influence as a British parliamentarian to pressure her aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to allocate these valuable plots to her immediate family members. Prosecutors claimed that both Radwan and Azmina violated regulations by concealing their ownership of other properties in Dhaka, which would have automatically disqualified them from acquiring land within the exclusive Purbachal development under Bangladeshi law.
Second Conviction Within Months for Labour MP
This latest conviction represents the second prison sentence handed to Ms Siddiq by Bangladeshi courts in barely a month. In December, she received a two-year sentence on related corruption charges, which she denounced at the time as "unfair" and the product of what she described as a "kangaroo court."
Following that earlier verdict, Ms Siddiq stated: "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. I refuse to be distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh."
Former Prime Minister Also Receives Lengthy Sentence
In a significant development, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the former prime minister of Bangladesh and Ms Siddiq's aunt, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for her role in allegedly allocating plots of land to extended family members. The former leader, who governed Bangladesh for fifteen years until being ousted in August 2023, is currently living in exile in India.
Judge Robiul Alam of the Dhaka Special Judge Court imposed financial penalties alongside the prison sentences. Ms Siddiq was fined £593, which converts to an additional six months imprisonment if unpaid, while her siblings each received fines of just under £1,200 with similar conversion terms.
Labour Party Questions Legal Process Fairness
A Labour Party spokesman responded to the verdict by stating: "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. This is despite repeated requests made to the Bangladeshi authorities through her legal team."
The spokesman continued: "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 judgment."
Labour sources have indicated there are no current plans to strip Ms Siddiq of her party membership or initiate disciplinary proceedings, citing "significant concerns about the integrity and fairness of this process."
Background of Allegations and Previous Investigations
Ms Siddiq has consistently denied all charges since they became public last year, maintaining that she is the victim of a political witch-hunt. She resigned as City Minister in January last year following revelations by the Daily Mail that she was being investigated by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission over claims that she and family members accepted bribes related to a Russian-built nuclear power plant deal in Bangladesh.
Her resignation came shortly after the Parliamentary standards watchdog investigated claims that Ms Siddiq owned and lived in London flats allegedly gifted to her and family members by British-based supporters of her aunt Hasina. Although cleared of wrongdoing in that investigation, the report noted she may have been inattentive to the "reputational damage" her connections to Bangladeshi politics could cause.
The Purbachal development, located north of Dhaka, has become one of Bangladesh's most exclusive residential areas and now serves as the country's new diplomatic enclave. Under regulations that were in force at the time of the alleged offences, family members of serving ministers or government officials were automatically barred from purchasing land within Purbachal if they owned property elsewhere in the capital.
