A court in Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison for corruption, a week after she was handed the death penalty for crimes against humanity.
Hasina, 78, is currently residing in India and has defied court orders to return to Bangladesh.
On November 17, she was sentenced in absentia to be hanged for crimes against humanity, linked to a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year that ultimately led to her ouster.
In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had brought three separate cases against Hasina over the alleged illegal acquisition of valuable land plots in a suburb of the capital, Dhaka.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun, presiding over the corruption case, said Hasina’s conduct “demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property.”
“Treating public land as a private asset, she directed her greed toward state resources and manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives,” the ruling added.
Hasina’s US-based son, Sajeeb Wazed, and daughter, Saima Wazed, who has served as a senior UN official, were each sentenced to five years in prison.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, after weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule.
Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said he would appeal the verdict in the corruption cases. “We are not satisfied with the verdict, as we had sought maximum punishment,” he told AFP. “We will consult our client, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and decide on the next course of action.”
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s tenure, with violence disrupting campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for February 2026. According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina sought to retain power.
Hasina has denounced both the guilty verdict and the death sentence in her crimes-against-humanity trial as “biased and politically motivated.”
She is also facing prosecution in three additional corruption cases, along with her sister, Sheikh Rehana, and her children, including British MP Tulip Siddiq.
