Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison for corruption

DHAKA: A Dhaka court on Thursday has sentenced Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years imprisonment on corruption charges. Dhaka’s Special Judge-5 Mohammd Abdullah Al Mamun announced the verdict of Sheikh Hasina sentenced to 21 years in prison, 7 years each, in three plot fraud cases.

Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed six separate cases against Sheikh Hasina and her family members last January for allegedly illegally allocating government’s plots at Purbachal area in Dhaka. The verdict in the remaining three cases will be announced on December 1.

The court sentenced Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy to five years in prison and a fine of Tk 100,000. The court sentenced Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed Putul to five years in prison.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh has already sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity for her efforts to suppress the July 2024 anti-government protests. Sheikh Hasina and her family did not have a lawyer in the cases as they were absconding. However, they have denied any involvement in any corruption allegations in various speeches and statements.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Minister of External Affairs on Wednesday stated that the Indian government is currently examining the request from Bangladesh’s interim government seeking the extradition of its former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced to death by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a case related to crimes against humanity during last year’s July-August unrest.

Adressing a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi had formally received Dhaka’s communication over the matter, stressing that India remains committed to Bangladesh’s stability and the well-being of its people as part of its “ongoing judicial and internal legal processes”.

“Yes, we have received the request, and this request is being examined. As part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes, we remain committed to the best interest of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country, and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all state stakeholders”, Jaiswal said.

In July 2024, a student-led uprising was organized against then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She fled the country on August 5 of that year and took refuge in India. An interim government was subsequently formed under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. (ANI)