Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sentenced to 21 years in prison in three corruption cases linked to the illegal allocation of plots in Dhaka’s Purbachal New Town Project, a fresh blow to the former leader already facing a death sentence for crimes against humanity.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 found the 78-year-old guilty of abusing power to illegally obtain six plots totaling 60 kathas for herself and family members by submitting false affidavits to RAJUK (a Bangladeshi public agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka). The court ordered three separate seven-year terms to run consecutively.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul were handed five-year jail terms in one of the cases. Nineteen other accused received various prison sentences, while former Housing Ministry officer Saiful Islam Sarkar was acquitted.
Delivering the verdict, Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun said Hasina’s actions showed “a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property.”
He added that she had “treated public land as a private asset” and manipulated official procedures.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed six cases in January alleging widespread irregularities in land allocations in the Purbachal project. Further trials involving Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana, nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and nieces Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq Ruponti are ongoing, with arguments scheduled for November 25.
Death sentence and plans for appeal: Last week, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death by hanging for ordering a lethal crackdown on the student-led uprising of July–August 2024. They also received life imprisonment on a separate charge. ICT prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said on Thursday: “We have made a preliminary decision to appeal for upgrading the life sentence to the death penalty.” Appeals must be filed within 30 days.