On December 1, 2025, Labour MP and former UK minister Tulip Siddiq was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison by a Bangladeshi court, a verdict she has forcefully condemned as "deeply unfair," "flawed," and "farcical." The conviction, which also included a fine of 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka (about $821 or £620), stems from allegations that Siddiq used her influence to help her family secure a valuable plot of land near Dhaka by pressuring her aunt, the ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Siddiq has categorically denied all wrongdoing and remains in London, highly unlikely to serve any jail time given the UK’s lack of an extradition treaty with Bangladesh.
The case against Siddiq is just one in a series of sweeping prosecutions launched against Hasina, her relatives, and close associates since Hasina’s government was toppled in July 2024. According to The Guardian and BBC, the trial began in August 2025 and was conducted entirely in Siddiq’s absence, alongside 16 other defendants, including her mother Rehana Siddiq, who reportedly received a seven-year sentence. None of the main accused, including Hasina herself, were present in court for the verdict. Siddiq told BBC, “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.” She continued, “There’s been absolutely no summons sent to me, there’s no charge sheet, I’ve had no correspondence from them – I’m not difficult to find, I’m a parliamentarian.”
Siddiq’s legal team, based both in the UK and Bangladesh, has argued that she has never held a Bangladeshi ID card or voter ID, nor a Bangladeshi passport since childhood, directly disputing Bangladeshi prosecutors’ claims that she was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in Bangladesh, however, insisted they had obtained her passport, ID, and tax number. Siddiq maintains that she only learned of her conviction through media reports, describing the ordeal as a “Kafkaesque nightmare” and “trial by media, which is deeply unfair.”
The court documents, as cited by Financial Times and BBC, allege that Siddiq “forced and influenced her aunt and the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina using her special power to secure [a plot of land] for her mother Rehana Siddiq, sister Azmina Siddiq and brother Radwan Siddiq.” Prosecutors further claimed, without presenting phone records or messages, that Siddiq called and messaged senior aides in Hasina’s office and visited Dhaka to secure the land. The evidence reportedly relied on the testimony of two officials from the prime minister’s residence, but Siddiq and her legal team have dismissed the prosecution’s evidence as forged and the entire case as politically motivated.
Since Hasina’s ouster, the new interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has overseen a raft of prosecutions targeting the former prime minister and her extended family. The timing and breadth of these legal actions have drawn international scrutiny and criticism. The verdict against Siddiq comes just two weeks after her aunt, Hasina, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity related to a 2024 crackdown that left an estimated 1,400 people dead. Hasina, currently in exile in India, has denied all charges and accused the Bangladeshi judiciary of being controlled by “an unelected government run by the Awami League’s political opponents.”
Throughout the proceedings, Siddiq has maintained her innocence. In a statement released on her behalf and quoted by BBC, she said, “I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me. Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.” The Labour Party, which Siddiq represents in the UK Parliament, has stood by her. A spokesperson said, “Highly regarded senior legal professionals have highlighted that 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.”
Senior British legal figures have also raised the alarm over the fairness of the trial. Last week, a group of prominent lawyers—including ex-Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, and Lady Cherie Blair—sent a letter to Bangladesh’s UK representative expressing deep concern. According to The Guardian, the letter stated, “Such a process is artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution.” Siddiq herself told the press, “The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified.”
Despite the controversy, Siddiq retains her seat in Parliament, her Labour Party membership, and the Labour whip. She is not under investigation or subject to disciplinary action within her party. Prior to her resignation as Treasury minister in January 2025—amid mounting scrutiny over her familial ties to Hasina—UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, found “no evidence of improprieties” by Siddiq, though he said it was “regrettable” she had not been more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of her connections.
The allegations against Siddiq are not limited to the land deal at the center of Monday’s verdict. She faces multiple ongoing investigations in Bangladesh, including two additional trials and scrutiny over the alleged transfer of a valuable flat in Dhaka to her sister. Siddiq and her family have also been linked to accusations of embezzlement involving a £3.9 billion Russian-funded nuclear power plant deal dating back to 2013. All of these allegations have been categorically denied by Siddiq and her relatives, who argue that the charges originated with Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina.
Bangladeshi authorities estimate that around $234 billion (£174 billion) was misappropriated through corruption during Hasina’s tenure, according to figures cited by BBC. The Awami League, Hasina’s party, described the verdict as “entirely predictable” and “firmly denied” all allegations against the former prime minister and her family. “The process fails to pass any reasonable test of judicial fairness – a point that has been made forcefully by both local and international legal experts,” the party said in a statement.
With the UK and Bangladesh lacking an extradition treaty, Siddiq was not compelled to return to Dhaka for the trial, even after Bangladeshi authorities issued an arrest warrant. The UK classifies Bangladesh as a “2B country,” meaning that clear evidence must be presented to British courts to authorize any extradition request—a high bar that has not been met in this case.
As the dust settles on this high-profile verdict, questions linger about the intersection of politics, justice, and international relations. For Siddiq, the legal battle is far from over, but she remains defiant and determined to clear her name, even as the political storm in Bangladesh shows no sign of abating.