A Bangladesh court has sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison on corruption charges, marking another major blow for the former leader who is already facing a death sentence issued just last week for crimes against humanity.
The 78-year-old ex-premier, currently staying in India, has repeatedly rejected demands to return to Bangladesh to face the courts. On November 17, she was convicted in absentia for ordering a violent crackdown on last year’s student-led uprising that ultimately forced her from power.
The latest ruling stems from three separate cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), accusing Hasina of illegally seizing prime property in a Dhaka suburb. Judge Abdullah Al Mamun stated in his ruling that Hasina’s actions revealed “a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement and unchecked power,” adding that she manipulated state mechanisms for personal gain.
Her children — Sajeeb Wazed and Saima Wazed, the latter recognized internationally for her UN leadership — were each handed five-year sentences related to the same cases.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, after weeks of mass demonstrations challenging her government’s authoritarian rule. Since her departure, the country has been gripped by political instability and escalating violence ahead of the February 2026 elections. The UN estimates that as many as 1,400 people were killed in the crackdowns launched during her attempts to maintain control.
Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said the state is considering an appeal, noting dissatisfaction with what they viewed as a lenient ruling.
Hasina, meanwhile, has dismissed both the corruption verdict and the death sentence as “politically motivated,” a stance she continues to uphold as she faces additional corruption trials, including cases involving her sister Sheikh Rehana and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq.
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