To Bangladesh, where the country’s ousted former prime minister – and aunt of Labour MP Tulip Siddiq – has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. A special tribunal judged Sheikh Hasina responsible for ordering a violent crackdown on student-led protests in 2023 – during which up to 1,400 people died, according to UN estimates. Good heavens…
Protests arose over Bangladesh’s policy of reserving almost a third of civil servant jobs for veterans of its war of independence from Pakistan in 1971 – and their descendants – which tended to go to supporters of Hasina and her Awami League party. Concerns about cronyism on a backdrop of high unemployment rates prompted anger among students and graduates, sparking protests. Now the country’s interim government has ensured just 5 per cent of government roles go to veterans as it attempts to stabilise the economy.
The Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate was also dragged into a Bangladeshi investigation involving her aunt – and in April, Siddiq had an arrest warrant issued against her in Bangladesh over alleged corruption charges. In one of at least three investigations against the Hampstead politician, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has accused Siddiq of putting pressure on her aunt to give plots of land in a Dhaka residential development to three of the parliamentarian’s family members.
The MP has been accused of helping Hasina siphon off large sums of money intended for eight infrastructure projects. In September, Siddiq was also facing claims that despite previous denials, she had been issued with a national identity card and passport. Siddiq’s spokesperson has labelled the accusations as being a ‘politically motivated smear campaign’ and she has always denied the allegations against her. The warrant was issued by a judge in Dhaka after the ACC submitted a criminal charge sheet against the politician – who was formerly, um, Labour’s anti-corruption minister. The jokes write themselves…
Meanwhile Hasina was tried for crimes against humanity in abstentia as she is currently living in exile in India. The former leader has blasted the court verdict as ‘biased and politically motivated’ and, in a five-page statement, claimed the decision was the government’s way of ‘nullifying the Awami League as a political force’. Today’s decision will put pressure on India to extradite the onetime authoritarian ruler – but it is not thought likely the country will do so.
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