Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets 21 years in jail for corruption
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Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to be hanged for crimes against humanity after ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising in 2024 that eventually ousted her.
PHOTO: AFP
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DHAKA – A court in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Nov 27 to 21 years in prison for corruption, a week after she was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity.
Hasina, 78, is currently residing in India and has defied court orders to return to Bangladesh.
She was sentenced in absentia on Nov 17
Meanwhile, three other cases had been brought against the former leader by the Anti-Corruption Commission over land grabs of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka.
Hasina’s conduct “demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power and a greedy eye for public property”, Judge Abdullah Al Mamun ruled.
“Treating public land as a private asset, she directed her greedy eye towards state resources and manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives,” he said.
Hasina’s US-based son Sajeeb Wazed and daughter Saima Wazed, who has served as a top UN official, were sentenced to five years each.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on Aug 5, 2024, after weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule.
Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said he would appeal the verdict in the corruption cases.
“We are not satisfied with the verdict, as we had sought (the) maximum punishment,” he told AFP. “We will consult our client, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and decide on the next course of action.”
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, and violence has marred campaigning for the election slated for February 2026.
The UN says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power.
The former leader has called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial “biased and politically motivated”.
She is also being prosecuted in three other corruption cases, along with her sister Sheikh Rehana and her children, including British MP Tulip Siddiq. AFP
