Bangladesh’s ex-leader Hasina and niece, British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, found guilty of corruption

DHAKA Bangladesh AP A court in Bangladesh s capital on Monday sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece British Labour Party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison for corruption involving a administration land project Rabiul Alam the judge of Dhaka s Special Judge s Court commented Hasina misused her power as prime minister while Siddiq was guilty of corruptly influencing her aunt in helping her mother get a piece of land in a leadership project Siddiq s mother Sheikh Rehana was given seven years in prison and was considered the prime participant in the episode It involved the Purbachal New Town project in a suburb of Dhaka Siddiq who serves in the British Parliament for Hampstead and Highgate in London had denied the charges Hasina has been in exile in India since she was ousted by a mass uprising last year The trial and others against her were conducted in absentia Source