Siddiq given second Bangladesh jail sentence as Labour criticises process

Former minister and Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has been sentenced to four years in prison for corruption charges by a court in Bangladesh, in a process the Labour Party has criticised as unfair.

The court also sentenced Siddiq's aunt, the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and two other family members to varying prison terms in separate corruption cases.

The defendants, who were tried in absentia, denied the charges.

Responding to the sentences, a Labour Party spokesman said: "Tulip Siddiq has not had access to a fair legal process in this case and has never been informed of the details of the charges against her."

"This is despite repeated requests made to the Bangladeshi authorities through her legal team.

"Anyone facing any charge should always be afforded the right to make legal representations when allegations are made against them.

"Given that has not happened in this case, we cannot recognise this judgment."

The four-year sentence comes on top of a two-year sentence for corruption charges handed to Siddiq towards the end of last year.

In December 2025, she was found guilty of influencing her aunt to use "her special power" to secure a plot of land in the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

The Hampstead and Highgate MP described the process as "flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end".

"I'm absolutely baffled by the whole thing - I've still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities despite them spreading malicious allegations about me for a year-and-a-half now."

Siddiq was forced to step down as a UK Treasury minister in January 2025 following questions about links to her aunt, including her use of properties in London linked to her aunt's allies.

The prime minister's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, said he had "not identified evidence of improprieties" but it was "regrettable" that Siddiq had not been more alert to the "potential reputational risks" of the connection.

In her resignation letter, Siddiq said she had "acted with full transparency" but would be stepping down to avoid becoming "a distraction" for the government.

The court cases against Hasina and members of her family were launched following her removal as Bangladesh's leader.

Hasina had led the country for 15 years but fled to India in August 2024 in the face of mass uprisings.

Last year, she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over a crackdown on the student protests.

Hasina called the trial "biased and politically motivated".