Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has been handed a two-year prison sentence by a court in Bangladesh, a verdict she has vehemently denounced as the product of a "kangaroo court".
A 'Kafkaesque' verdict and staunch denial
In a ruling on Monday 1 December 2025, a judge in Dhaka found the MP for Hampstead and Highgate guilty of abusing her political influence. The court stated she coerced her aunt, Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, into transferring prime real estate to Siddiq's mother and siblings. The property was alleged to have been obtained illegally.
Siddiq, a former City minister, responded with a fierce rejection of the charges. She described the entire experience as a "Kafkaesque nightmare" and labelled the legal process "flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end".
"The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified," she said. "I hope this so-called 'verdict' will be treated with the contempt it deserves."
Family sentences and wider prosecutions
The trial, conducted in absentia, also sentenced Siddiq's mother, Sheikh Rehana, to seven years in prison. This case is part of a wider series of prosecutions in Bangladesh. Notably, just a week prior, former PM Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity related to her government's crackdown on protests.
These protests had originally erupted across the south Asian nation objecting to restrictions on freedom of speech, which ultimately led to Hasina being deposed.
UK legal concerns and political fallout
The fairness of the trial has been questioned by prominent UK legal figures. Last week, former Conservative justice secretaries David Gauke and Robert Buckland, alongside ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, voiced their concerns.
They were joined by lawyers Cherie Blair KC and Philippe Sands KC in writing to the Bangladeshi high commissioner. The group argued the trial's process was "artificial and contrived".
In comments to Sky News, Siddiq revealed she had tried to engage with Bangladesh's interim prime minister, Professor Muhammad Yunus, during his UK visit in June, but he did not respond to her requests. "So my message to the Bangladeshi authorities and to professor Muhammad Yunus is that he should be ashamed of himself," she stated.
Despite the sentence, Siddiq is not expected to serve jail time in the UK, as Britain does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh. The verdict follows nearly a year of scrutiny over Siddiq's ties to her aunt and her naming in an anti-corruption probe in Bangladesh.
The MP, whose north London constituency neighbours that of Labour leader Keir Starmer, resigned as City minister in January. This came several weeks after initial questions were raised about her involvement with Hasina's Awami League party. It was also reported she had lived in a home provided by a Hasina ally and currently resides in a £2.1 million flat owned by another party member.
