Picture : @ani_digital/X
A few days after the death sentence was pronounced by a special tribunal, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faces yet another sentence, 21 years in jail in three corruption cases related to irregularities in the allocation of land in a government housing project. Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 sentenced the 78-year-old former premier to seven years each in three cases of corruption related to the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachal, totalling 21 years as reported by PTI.
The judge said Hasina would serve them consecutively.
Hasina was also fined Taka one lakh in each case, or 18 months more in prison if she failed to submit the amount. Judge Mamun also sentenced Hasina’s son, Sajib Wajed Joy, and daughter, Saima Wazed Putul, to five years imprisonment each in the corruption cases filed against them over the housing project near the capital.
Earlier, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal for “crimes against humanity” over her government’s brutal crackdown on student-led protests last year. Hasina maintains the charges against her are “biased and politically motivated”.
Ever since her government was toppled, Hasina has been living in India ending her party’s Awami League’s 16-year regime. Bangladesh government has demanded her extradition from India earlier too. Foreign Affairs Adviser M Touhid Hossain said Bangladesh is awaiting a response from India regarding its earlier request to extradite Hasina, noting that “the situation has changed now” since the judicial process is complete and the former prime minister has been convicted.
India said it is reviewing the interim government’s request for Hasina’s extradition and emphasised that it remains committed to safeguarding the interests of the Bangladeshi people. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi had formally received Dhaka’s communication over the matter, stressing that India remains committed to Bangladesh’s stability and the well-being of its people as part of its “ongoing judicial and internal legal processes”.
Adding further he said,“Yes, we have received the request, and this request is being examined. As part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes, we remain committed to the best interest of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country, and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all state stakeholders.”
Unfortunately, the 21-year prison sentence for Hasina in the corruption cases does not nullify her death penalty, since it was imposed by the International Crimes Tribunal (for international crimes), and the prison term was imposed by a regular anti-corruption court. Under Bangladeshi law, multiple convictions don’t automatically cancel harsher penalties, and the death sentence takes precedence if enforced. However, Hasina’s lawyers filed an appeal with the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, citing fair trial concerns, but no domestic appeal has been heard or decided.
India will have to make a tough decision on Hasina’s extradition, when Indian government itself is asking for the extradition of fugitive Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and others in financial disappropriation cases claiming it to be anti-national.
