Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after a Dhaka court convicted her in three corruption cases linked to Purbachal New Town land allocations.
All three verdicts were announced in Hasina’s absence, as she currently lives in self-imposed exile in India. Each case carried a seven-year sentence, ordered to be served consecutively by the judge.
The court ruled that Hasina unlawfully secured land plots for herself and her family despite being ineligible, with both her son and daughter also sentenced to five years in one of the cases.
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Earlier this month, Hasina was sentenced to death in a separate case related to alleged crimes against humanity during the government’s crackdown on public uprisings after her 15-year rule ended.
Sheikh Hasina and her former party, the Awami League, strongly condemned the verdicts. The former premier did not appoint a defense lawyer, and the Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the cases following her ousting.
Several additional cases related to the same land project are still pending, with another verdict expected on December 1, as Bangladesh continues its political transition under interim leadership ahead of February national elections.