By Eniola Amadu
The trial of former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq in Bangladesh has been described as “contrived and unfair” top legal figures, including a former Conservative justice secretary.
The former representative for Hampstead and Highgate who resigned in January from the UK government is expected to get her verdict and sentencing delivered in her absence, with prosecutors pushing for the highest penalty.
Siddiq is a niece to the former prime minister of Bangladesh who was given a capital punishment on allegations of crimes against humanity stemming from last year’s suppression of student demonstrations.
In response to Siddiq’s set judgement, a group of top lawyers in a letter to Bangladesh’s high commissioner in the UK, Abida Islam stated that the defendant did not enjoy basic civil rights in the course of her trial such as knowing the charges or securing a lawyer.
They also noted that a legal representative of Siddiq was apprehended and confined. “Such a process is artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution,” they said.
The Labour MP is alleged to have influenced Hasina to obtain a land parcel in a Dhaka suburb for her mother, a sister of the former premier.
In their letter, the lawyers expressed their profound concern regarding the current criminal proceedings in Bangladesh” at a period when “the leader of the interim government, chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, has repeatedly espoused the importance of the rule of law and justice in Bangladesh”.
They further asserted saying: “As she lives in the UK and is a UK national, she is plainly not a fugitive.
“She is an elected member of parliament, who can be contacted at the House of Commons, and indeed extradited to Bangladesh to face charges if there are proper grounds for seeking her extradition.
“Not only has Ms Siddiq not been presented with the charges and evidence against her, she has also not been able to obtain legal representation.
“A lawyer in Bangladesh she appointed to represent her was forced to stand down, reporting that he had been placed under house arrest, further informing Ms Siddiq that his daughter had been threatened.
“This accords with reports of a pattern of interference and intimidation in the legal system since the interim government took office.”
Siddiq, along with around ten other people, including her aunt, mother, brother, and sister, have been facing trial in Dhaka since early August.
Meanwhile, Siddiq rejects the claims, insisting they are driven by political motives.
