Tulip lost chance to defend herself by not responding to summons, says ACC
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British MP Tulip Siddiq, niece of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has lost the opportunity to defend herself by not responding to a summons by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the agency’s Chairman Md Abdul Momen has said.
Tulip was asked to appear at the ACC Headquarters at 10am on Wednesday in a case over accepting a flat in Gulshan as a “bribe” from Eastern Housing Limited.
The notice was sent to her Dhanmondi and Gulshan 2 addresses on Tuesday, according to the anti-graft agency.
On Tulip’s failure to appear before the ACC, Momen said: “She lost the opportunity to defend herself. Not just Tulip, everyone will get that opportunity as per the rules. If no one appears, the international procedure will be followed. Every citizen has the right to justice. Any citizen will get it.”
He said, “She is an accused like any other. She was supposed to appear at the ACC [on Wednesday] to give a statement, but she failed to show up.”
“She will face [consequences] herself, we will proceed per the rules. If the accused in a case is absent, there is an ‘in absentia trial’. If she does not appear in court later, we will adopt the international procedure. If we cannot find her in our usual ways, since she is a foreign national, or is a fugitive, we will issue a red alert with the help of Interpol.”
Momen believes that it is possible to bring Hasina, who fled to India in the face of a mass uprising that toppled the government on Aug 5, 2024, back to the country under the extradition treaty with the neighbour.
He noted that the agency is working legally and procedurally for this.
Bangladesh has requested the Indian government to send Hasina back under the extradition treaty but has yet to receive a response.
Momen said, “We have extradition treaties with several countries, and India is one of them. This opportunity was created by the then government in 2011.
“We have no legal issues in bringing the accused into our custody. But we are waiting for the court order.”