Bangladeshi court convicts former leader Hasina, children for graft

The court convicted Hasina in absentia in three separate cases filed by the state-run Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), sentencing her to a total of 21 years in prison.

Both her son, Sajib Wazed Joy, and her daughter, Saima Wazed Putul, were awarded five-year sentences in separate cases, according to ACC counsel Mainul Hasan Lipon.

Hasina has been in exile in India since fleeing the country on August 5, 2024. Her son lives in the United States (US), while her daughter, an official with the World Health Organisation, reportedly on leave for an indefinite period, is stationed in New Delhi.

Earlier this month, the former prime minister was handed the death penalty by a special court in Dhaka for her involvement in last year's violent suppression of mass protests that ousted her after 15 years in power.

The latest charges stem from allegations that the family obtained three plots of land, each measuring 10 kathas - about 669 square metres - in the Purbachal New Town project near Dhaka.

The prosecution argued they did so by "concealing information, breaking the law, and through corruption," noting that they failed to disclose that they already owned residential facilities in the capital.

The ACC filed six corruption cases against Hasina and her family in January following her ouster.

Three of those cases were decided on Thursday. The others, which involve additional family members including her sister, Sheikh Rehana, and niece Tulip Siddiq, a British MP, are pending judgment in a different court.

--BERNAMA-dpa