The government lawyer vowed to appeal the verdict, saying the government wanted the maximum punishment.
Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to 21 years in jail in separate corruption cases related to land allocation in a government project, dealing another legal setback to the country’s former exiled leader.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, a court found Hasina guilty of illegally acquiring plots of land in a suburb of the capital Dhaka for herself and her family despite her disqualification.
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Last week, Hasina was sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity for ordering the deadly crackdown against a student-led rebellion last year that ultimately ousted her.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, following weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule.
The 78-year-old former leader is currently living in India and has defied court orders to return to Bangladesh. New Delhi is said to be studying Dhaka’s extradition request.
Shaina Begum, the mother of 20-year-old student Sajjat Hossein Sojal, who was shot by police and her body burned hours before the student-led rebellion forced Hasina to resign and flee the country, told Al Jazeera after the verdict, “I cannot rest until she (Hasina) is brought back and hanged in this country.”
Hundreds of families who lost loved ones in the protests wonder whether the ousted prime minister will actually face justice.
Three corruption cases were brought against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over land grabbing of lucrative plots in the Purvanchal New Town project.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun ruled that Hasina’s conduct “reflects a mentality of persistent corruption rooted in authority, unchecked power and a greedy eye for public property.”
“Treating public land as a private property, he turned his greedy eye on state resources and manipulated official processes to benefit himself and his close relatives.”
Each sentence was seven years in prison, and Mamun ruled that Hasina was to serve her sentences consecutively.
His son Sajib Wajed and daughter Saima Wajed were sentenced to five years in prison in one of the three cases.
Other details of the decision were not immediately available.
Government lawyer Khan Moinul Hasan said he would appeal, telling news agency AFP that he was “not satisfied” with the verdict and wanted the maximum sentence.
Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party have condemned the cases against her.
She did not appoint a defense lawyer and some global human rights groups have questioned the credibility and fairness of the trial process against Hasina.
Other cases related to alleged land grabs are still pending, and a separate verdict is expected on December 1.
Bangladesh is undergoing a difficult political transition under an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, and new elections are planned for February 2026.
The United Nations says 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown as Hasina tried to seize power.
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