A court has sentenced ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in prison in two separate cases filed on charges of corruption in the allocation of government plots in the capital’s Purbachal New Town project.
In the same verdict, UK MP Tulip Rizwana Siddique was sentenced to four years in prison, and Sheikh Rehana’s children Radwan Mujib Siddique and Azmina Siddique Ruponti were sentenced to seven years in prison each. A fine of Tk 100,000 was imposed on each.
Judge Md. Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge-4 Court announced the verdict on Monday afternoon. The court also sentenced the other accused in the case to different terms of imprisonment and fines depending on the severity of the crime.
Earlier, in mid-January, after presenting arguments in two cases, the verdict was set for February 2. Several former officials and employees of RAJUK and the Ministry of Housing, including high-ranking bureaucrats, were accused in the cases.
The Anti-Corruption Commission’s charge sheet states that while in power, the former prime minister and his family members misused their influence and power to appropriate government plots for their own interests. The ACC filed a total of six cases in January, all of which have been charged.
This verdict is being considered the judicial settlement of one of the most discussed corruption cases in the country’s political history.