Tulip Siddiq MP given jail sentence in Bangladesh after trial in her absence

The former minister and niece of Bangladesh's ousted former leader, who received a two-year sentence, says the charges are politically motivated.

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She was found guilty of influencing her aunt, Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land for her family in the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, a claim she strongly denies.

Siddiq, who is based in London and has rejected the charges, is unlikely to serve the sentence.

The Labour MP said the process had been "flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end".

"I'm absolutely baffled by the whole thing - I've still had no contact whatsoever from the Bangladeshi authorities despite them spreading malicious allegations about me for a year-and-a-half now," she said.