Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina gets 21 years in jail for corruption, a week after receiving a death sentence for crimes against humanity
DHAKA: A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison for corruption on Thursday.
The 78-year-old former leader is currently residing in India and has defied court orders to return to Bangladesh.
This conviction comes just one week after she received a death sentence for crimes against humanity.
Hasina was sentenced in absentia on November 17 to be hanged for ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year.
The Anti-Corruption Commission brought three separate cases against the ex-leader concerning land grabs of lucrative plots in a Dhaka suburb.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun ruled that Hasina’s conduct “demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property”.
He added that she “treated public land as a private asset” and “manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives”.
Hasina’s US-based son Sajeeb Wazed and daughter Saima Wazed, a former top UN official, each received five-year sentences.
The former prime minister fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, following weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule.
Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan stated he would appeal the corruption verdict.
“We are not satisfied with the verdict, as we had sought maximum punishment,” he told AFP.
Hasan added they would “consult our client, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and decide on the next course of action”.
Bangladesh has experienced ongoing political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule.
Violence has marred campaigning for elections scheduled for February 2026.
The United Nations reports up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to maintain power.
Hasina has called her previous guilty verdict and death sentence “biased and politically motivated”.
She faces prosecution in three additional corruption cases alongside her sister Sheikh Rehana and her children, including British MP Tulip Siddiq. – AFP
