Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq has described her two year prison sentence in Bangladesh as 'deeply unfair' after a court convicted her in her absence on corruption charges.
She was found guilty of influencing her aunt, Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land for her family in the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, a claim she strongly denies.
Siddiq, who is based in London and has rejected the charges, is unlikely to serve the jail term.
The Labour MP said the process had been 'flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end'.
'I'm absolutely baffled by the whole thing - I've still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities despite them spreading malicious allegations about me for a year and a half now,' she said.
'There's been absolutely no summons sent to me, there's no charge sheet, I've had no correspondence from them - I'm not difficult to find, I'm a parliamentarian.'
She said she had engaged lawyers in the UK and Bangladesh.
'I feel like I'm in some sort of Kafkaesque nightmare,' she added.
'The only reason I know I'm being convicted is because I read it in the newspapers. So this is trial by media, which is deeply unfair.'
Since Hasina's regime was overturned, prosecutors in Bangladesh have launched a number of wide-ranging legal cases against the former leader, her past associates, and family members.
The trial involving Siddiq has been playing out in Dhaka since August.
Siddiq continues to face a number of outstanding charges.
Court documents included claims that Siddiq 'forced and influenced her aunt and the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina using her special power to secure [a plot of land] for her mother Rehana Siddiq, sister Azmina Siddiq, and brother Radwan Siddiq'.
A prosecutor for Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) previously stated Siddiq was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen as authorities had obtained her Bangladeshi passport, ID, and tax number.
Siddiq's lawyers have disputed she is a Bangladeshi citizen, telling the Financial Times she has 'never had' an ID card or voter ID, and 'has not held a passport since she was a child'.
She was sentenced by Judge Rabiul Alam to two years in prison and a 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka fine ($821; £620). If she fails to pay, six months will be added to the sentence.
When the trial began, the MP said prosecutors had 'peddled false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators'.
A statement on her behalf continued: 'I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me. Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.'
A Labour spokesperson stated the party could not recognize the judgement, citing concerns raised by senior legal professionals over the fairness of the trial and lack of notification regarding the charges.
The verdict comes two weeks after Hasina was sentenced to death in a separate trial related to her role in a brutal crackdown on protests that led to her ousting in July 2024.
Siddiq has repeatedly denied wrongdoing regarding the allegations, which originated from claims made by a political opponent of Hasina.
Responding to the latest verdict, the Awami League, the political party led by Hasina, described it as 'entirely predictable' and firmly denied the allegations against her and her family members.
