Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced in absentia to two years in prison in Bangladesh over alleged corruption, a verdict she has strongly denied. The trial involved 17 people and centred on claims that Siddiq influenced her aunt, Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land for her family near Dhaka. Siddiq, based in London, is unlikely to serve the sentence.
Siddiq continues to face multiple outstanding charges in Bangladesh. The trial began in August and included claims that she “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 Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission prosecutor said Siddiq was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen using her passport, ID, and tax number. Siddiq’s lawyers have disputed this, stating she has “never had” an ID card or voter ID and “has not held a passport since she was a child.”
Judge Rabiul Alam sentenced Siddiq to two years in prison and fined her 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka (£620). If the fine is unpaid, six months will be added to her sentence.
Siddiq said at the start of the trial that 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 added: “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.”
The Labour Party has not recognised the judgment. A spokesperson said: “Highly regarded senior legal professionals have highlighted that 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.” Siddiq retains her Labour membership and the party whip in the House of Commons.
Concerns over the trial’s fairness have been raised by senior UK lawyers, including ex-Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, and human rights lawyer Lady Cherie Blair. They said Siddiq had not secured proper legal representation, describing the proceedings as “artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution.”
The verdict follows the sentencing of Hasina to death in a separate trial for crimes against humanity, relating to a crackdown that led to an estimated 1,400 deaths during protests in 2024. Hasina has denied the charges and remains in exile in India.
Siddiq is also under investigation in Bangladesh over other allegations, including the transfer of a flat to her sister and alleged embezzlement linked to a £3.9bn Russian-funded nuclear power plant deal. She has consistently denied wrongdoing.
The Awami League, Hasina’s party, described Siddiq’s verdict as “entirely predictable” while denying the allegations. The party also criticised Bangladesh’s judiciary, accusing it of being controlled by an “unelected government run by the Awami League’s political opponents.”
The UK does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, and Siddiq was not required to attend the trial despite an arrest warrant. Before her resignation as a junior Treasury minister, the independent ethics adviser found “no evidence of improprieties,” though noted she had not been alert to reputational risks from her ties to Hasina. Siddiq stepped down to avoid being a “distraction” for the UK government.
