Sheikh Hasina gets 21-year prison term in land scam; her children also convicted

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) – Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. The court issued this verdict in three cases related to the Purbachal plot scam in Dhaka. Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, and daughter, Saima Wazed, were each sentenced to five years in prison in one of the three cases.

According to Bangladeshi media, 19 of the remaining 20 accused in the case were sentenced to varying degrees. Furthermore, one person was acquitted on all three counts. Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka's Special Judge Court-5 delivered the verdict in Sheikh Hasina's absence in the courtroom. Earlier, the Bangladesh Crimes Tribunal had convicted her on three of the five counts, sentencing her to death in one case and life imprisonment in another. The ICT delivered the verdict on November 17 for crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising last year.

The anti-corruption body filed six separate cases between January 12 and 14 at its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 over alleged corruption in the distribution of plots under the Purbachal New Town project. The ACC accused the former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, of conspiring with senior Rajuk officials to illegally acquire six plots, each measuring 10 kattha, in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town project for herself, her son Sajeeb Wazed, daughter Saima Wazed, sister Sheikh Rehana, her son Radwan Mujib Siddique Bobby, and daughter Azmina Siddique.

According to Bangladeshi media, on March 25, the ACC filed six chargesheets in the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka. Hasina was named as a common accused in all six cases. On July 31, charges were framed against 29 people, including Hasina, Rehana, Sajeeb Wazed, Putul, Bobby, Tulip, and Azmina.