Tulip calls Bangladesh plot corruption verdict ‘predictable’, ‘farcical’

British MP Tulip Siddiq has rejected her sentence in Bangladesh on corruption charges, branding the verdict “flawed and farcical” and “as predictable as it is unjustified.”

Speaking to the press, Tulip alleged that Bangladeshi authorities attempted to discredit her using “fake” identity documents, a claim she reiterated after The Telegraph reported documents purporting to show her holding a Bangladeshi passport -- an assertion she denies.

The 43-year-old Hampstead & Highgate representative, who resigned from her UK ministerial role in January amid scrutiny over her family’s political ties, was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison on Monday over allegations that she manipulated her aunt, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure state land for her immediate family.

According to The Telegraph, The 43-year-old Hampstead & Highgate representative rejects the allegations outright, calling the proceedings “politically” driven and fundamentally “flawed”.

ALLEGATIONS AND VERDICT

A special court in Dhaka on Monday found Tulip guilty of “manipulating and influencing” her aunt, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure government plots for members of her immediate family.

Prosecutors said Tulip used her influence to persuade Hasina to arrange land allocations for Tulip’s mother Sheikh Rehana and her two siblings.

Mir Ahmed Ali Salam, of the prosecution, told The Times that a key witness against Tulip was Osman Goni, personal officer to Hasina’s former principal secretary. Osman testified that the MP had communicated through his superior regarding plot allocations.

Reuters reported that the plots -- part of a new township project, Purbachal New Town, intended to ease population pressures in Dhaka -- were unlawfully allocated through political influence and collusion with senior officials. Fourteen other defendants received five-year jail terms for their roles.

Tulip, Hasina and Rehana were each fined Tk 100,000, with another six months’ imprisonment if unpaid.

HASINA ALSO SENTENCED IN MULTIPLE CASES

The verdict comes amid a series of cases brought by the interim government against Hasina, who was ousted in Aug 2024 after weeks of student-led protests.

The Times reported that in the same corruption case Hasina and Rehana were sentenced to five and seven years respectively.

Last month, Hasina was also sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for ordering lethal crackdowns on protests -- charges she denies. She has been living in India since fleeing the country during the July Uprising.

CONCERNS OVER FAIR TRIAL

UK political figures and legal experts voiced deep alarm over the fairness of the process.

As reported by The Times, senior British lawyers -- including former attorney-general Dominic Grieve KC, former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC, and Cherie Blair KC -- wrote to the Bangladeshi High Commission criticising what they described as a contrived and unjust procedure.

They said Tulip had not been informed of the charges, lacked access to legal representation, and that a lawyer appointed for her in Bangladesh had been pressured and placed under house arrest.

Both The Telegraph and Reuters reported that the UK Labour Party stated it “cannot recognise this judgment” due to Tulip’s lack of due process.

LABOUR TIES

Tulip’s political ties with Keir Starmer began in 2014, when she had already secured the Labour nomination for Hampstead and Kilburn and offered her support for his candidacy in the neighbouring seat of Holborn and St Pancras.

The duo entered Westminster on the same night in the 2015 general election.

Although they backed different contenders in that year’s leadership race, both were later brought onto Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench.

When Labour sought a new leader again in early 2020, Tulip was among the earliest MPs to publicly endorse Starmer, reported The Telegraph.

The Telegraph said she welcomed his eventual win, telling the Camden New Journal that he had remained “a good friend through thick and thin”.

Beyond their parliamentary roles, Tulip is widely regarded as one of the few MPs Starmer considers a personal friend rather than only a colleague, the British daily added.

He said so himself in 2018 while campaigning with her ahead of the local elections, praising his “good friend and colleague”.

Both families are also said to have spent time together privately, with The Telegraph suggesting joint family holidays.

EXTRADITION UNLIKELY

Britain and Bangladesh do not have an extradition treaty, making it improbable that the former UK government minister will serve the sentence unless she voluntarily returns to Bangladesh.

The Times noted that extradition remains theoretically possible through a direct appeal to the UK home secretary.