After death sentence, Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets 21 years for land grab

Sheikh Hasina, the country’s exiled leader, was given a 21-year prison sentence in addition to other corruption cases involving land allocations in a government project.

Despite their ineligibility, a court found Hasina guilty of illegally securing plots of land in a suburb of the capital Dhaka for herself and her family in a decision on Thursday.

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After being found guilty of crimes against humanity last year for ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising that ultimately resulted in her being executed, Hasina was given the death penalty by hanging last week.

After weeks of student-led demonstrations against her autocratic rule, Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024 by helicopter.

The 78-year-old former leader has defied court orders to move back to Bangladesh and is currently residing in India. According to reports, New Delhi is examining Dhaka’s request for extradition.

Sajjat Hosen Sojal, the mother of the 20-year-old student who was shot and burned by the police hours before the student-led uprising forced Hasina to resign and flee the country, told Al Jazeera after the verdict, “I cannot be calm until she is brought back and hanged in this country” (Al Jazeera).

Hundreds of grieving families are uncertain about whether the ousted prime minister will face justice.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed three corruption cases against her for plots that were used to buy land for lucrative Purbachal New Town projects.

Judge Abdullah Al Mamun ruled that Hasina’s behavior “demonstrates a persistent corruption mindset grounded in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property.”

She manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives by treating public land as a private asset.

Hasina would need to serve each sentence separately, according to Mamun, who ordered each sentence to be served for seven years.

In one of the three cases, Sajeeb Wazed’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, and Saima Wazed’s daughter received sentences of five years in prison.

The verdict’s additional details were not immediately available.

Khan Moinul Hasan, the prosecutor, announced that he would appeal and that he wanted the maximum sentence.

The trials against her have been denounced by Hasina and her former Awami League party.

Some international human rights organizations have questioned the fairness and credibility of the Hasina trial process because she did not nominate a defense attorney.

A separate verdict is anticipated in the case of alleged land grabbing, which is still pending.

Under the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh has been through a difficult political transition, and in February 2026, new elections are planned.