Tulip Siddiq's in-absentia trial 'politically driven', says Bangladesh former PM Hasina

New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said that the in absentia trial of her niece, UK MP Tulip Siddiq, raises grave concerns about due process and fairness in the country’s judicial system.

She alleged that the ruling advances the political agenda of the interim government’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and his “ragtag coalition of extremists and opportunists”.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Hasina said, “Trials in absentia and the conviction of a British lawmaker raise serious questions about due process and fairness. My family members have always denied wrongdoing. I believe justice must be open, transparent and consistent with international standards. Yunus is using these prosecutions as a smokescreen to distract attention from his own governance failings and to suppress a political party that was elected nine times since independence.”

“This verdict serves only the political interests of Yunus and his ragtag coalition of extremists and opportunists.It certainly doesn’t serve Bangladesh’s interests, not least because it worsens our diplomatic relations with the UK, an important trading and development partner,” she added.

Hasina further stated that the way these proceedings have been handled has “damaged confidence in Bangladesh and will draw concern from the international community”.

Earlier on December 1, a Dhaka court sentenced Hasina to five years in prison over irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project.

Additionally, Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, was handed a seven-year sentence, while her niece, Tulip Siddiq, received two years' imprisonment.

The verdict delivered in the absence of the defendants and without proper legal representation sparked widespread concerns over judicial fairness.

Following the Dhaka court verdict, Tulip slammed Yunus, accusing him of presiding over what she described as a “miscarriage of justice”.

“I've still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities, despite them spreading malicious allegations against me for a year and a half now. I've tried to be responsible. I've engaged lawyers here in the UK who have repeatedly written to the Bangladeshi authorities, but they haven't responded. I then tried to engage a lawyer in Bangladesh itself, who went and tried to find out what was happening in court. They intimidated him and threatened him, and he withdrew,” the British MP stated in an interview video she posted on her social media platform X.

She said that Yunus should be "ashamed of himself" as he is "presiding over this miscarriage of justice".

“What he is doing is relentlessly pursuing a personal vendetta, trying to smear my reputation, and trying to drag a democratically elected member of parliament in Britain into the dirty politics of Bangladesh,” she added.