Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh after being put on trial in her absence alongside 16 other people over corruption allegations.
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 sentence. The sitting MP for Hampstead and Highgate continues to face a number of outstanding charges in Bangladesh.
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 - who quit as a Treasury minister in January over controversy around her ties to her aunt - has been playing out in Dhaka since August.
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 said 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.
She has not commented publicly since the verdict was delivered.
Last week, a group of senior lawyers raised concerns with Bangladesh's representative in the UK over how the trial had been conducted.
In a letter first reported by the Guardian, they said Siddiq had not been able to secure proper legal representation during the trial, adding: Such a process is artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution.
The verdict comes two weeks after Hasina was sentenced to death in a separate trial over her role in a brutal crackdown against the protests which ultimately forced her from office in July 2024.
Siddiq continues to face a number of outstanding charges in Bangladesh, including two ongoing trials relevant to the allegations at the centre of Monday's verdict. She is also being investigated over the alleged transfer of a flat located in a lucrative area of Dhaka to her sister.
Last week, Hasina was given a 21-year prison sentence after being put on trial in her absence alongside two of her children over a land deal in the Purbachal area of the capital, a case which has run parallel to the case against Siddiq.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate that around $234bn (£174bn) was appropriated through corruption during Hasina's reign.
Despite the controversy, prior to Siddiq's resignation from the British government, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's ethics adviser had found no evidence of improprieties following an investigation.
With the UK lacking an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, it's noted that Siddiq was not compelled by authorities to return to Dhaka for the trial despite an arrest warrant.
