British politician Tulip Siddiq found guilty in corruption trial and sentenced to two years in jail

British-Bangladeshi politician,  Tulip Siddiq, has been sentenced to two years in jail by a Bangladeshi court after being found guilty of corruption. 

The Labour MP, 43, was said to have unduly influenced her aunt, the country’s ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. It was alleged she wanted to secure a plot of land for her family on Dhaka’s outskirts, a claim Ms Siddiq strongly denied.

She was sentenced in abstentia alongside 16 other people and handed a 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka fine by Judge Rabiul Alam, the equivalent of £620.

If she fails to pay, six months will be added to her prison time. 

Ms Siddiq, who was the government’s anti-corruption minister, was forced to resign her position in the treasury earlier this year over the allegations.

Political observers in Bangladesh had thought she was ‘highly likely’ to be convicted, as her aunt, Hasina, 78, was found guilty in the same case last week and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Ms Siddiq has always denied the charges, accusing the Bangladeshi authorities of mounting a political witch-hunt against her.

Today’s sentencing means the MP for Hampstead and Highgate is likely to face renewed calls to stand down as a parliamentarian.

Most of the 17 accused – among them Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana – were absent when the judgment was pronounced.

Last week, prominent British lawyers and former ministers, led by Cherie Blair KC, signed a joint letter where they said the trial against Ms Siddiq was ‘contrived and unfair.’