Bangladesh court jails ex-PM Sheikh Hasina for 21 years in new corruption ruling

A Bangladesh court on Thursday, sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison on corruption charges, marking yet another major conviction for the ousted leader, who was handed the death penalty last week in a separate case involving crimes against humanity.

78-year-old Hasina, has remained in India since fleeing Bangladesh last year and has repeatedly ignored court directives to return and face trial.

On November 17, she was sentenced in absentia to death for allegedly ordering a violent clampdown on a student-led uprising that ultimately toppled her government.

The latest ruling concerns three corruption cases filed by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission, accusing her of illegally acquiring prime land in a suburb of Dhaka.

Presiding judge Abdullah Al Mamun, in delivering the verdict, said Hasina’s actions reflect a deep-seated culture of corruption, sustained by a sense of entitlement, abuse of authority, and an appetite for public property, adding that she treated state land as personal holdings to advance the interests of herself and close family members.

The court also convicted her children; Sajeeb Wazed, who lives in the United States, and Saima Wazed, a senior official at the United Nations, sentencing each of them to five years in prison.

Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after weeks of sustained student protests demanding an end to what critics described as her increasingly authoritarian rule.

Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said that the state would appeal the corruption verdicts.

“We are not satisfied with the sentencing, as we requested the maximum penalty. We will confer with the Anti-Corruption Commission to determine our next steps,” he said.