Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to 21 years in prison in separate corruption cases related to allocations of land in a government projec
In a decision issued today, Thursday, November 27, 2025, a court found the ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister guilty of illegally securing plots of land in a suburb of capital Dhaka for herself and her family despite their ineligibility.
The three corruption cases were brought against her by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over land grabs of lucrative plots in the Purbachal New Town project.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed six cases between January 12 and 14 and submitted charge-sheets in all of them on March 10.
On July 31, the court framed charges in the three cases and issued arrest warrants against the accused. A total of 29 witnesses testified in the cases.
Delivering the judgment, Judge Abdullah Al Mamun said, “The plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorised jurisdiction.”
He ruled that 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 greedy eye toward state resources and manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives.”
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun
Each sentence was seven years in prison, totalling 21 years, and Mamun ruled that Hasina would need to serve them consecutively. The judge also fined Hasina Taka one lakh in each case, or 18 months more in prison if she failed to submit the amount.
Her son Sajeeb Wazed and daughter Saima Wazed were each sentenced to five years in prison in one of the three cases. They were fined Taka one lakh each, or one month more in case of default.
Apart from the Hasina family, 20 others, including former Junior Minister for Housing, Sharif Ahmed, and officials of the housing ministry and Rajdhani Unyan Kartripakkah, were tried in the cases, and except one, all were sentenced to varying prison terms.
The man, who was acquitted, is a junior officer of the Ministry. Only one of the accused faced the trial in person, and he was sentenced to three years.
However, Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said that he would appeal, telling a news agency that he was “not satisfied” with the verdict and wanted the maximum sentence.
Hasina and her former ruling Awami League party have denounced the trials against her. She did not appoint a defence lawyer, and some global human rights groups have questioned the credibility and fairness of the trial process against Hasina.
Other cases also involving alleged land grabbing are still pending, and a separate verdict is expected December 1, 2025.
Bangladesh has been going through a difficult political transition under an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, and new elections are planned in February 2026.
Another Legal Blow To Sheikh Hasina
The latest verdict deals another legal blow to the country’s former exiled leader.
Last week, Hasina was sentenced to death by hanging, after she was found guilty for crimes against humanity for ordering a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, after weeks of student-led protests against her autocratic rule. The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power.
The 78-year-old former leader is currently residing in India and has defied court orders that she return to Bangladesh.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Adviser M Touhid Hossain said that Bangladesh expects a response from New Delhi to its earlier request seeking the extradition of Hasina, as the “situation is different now” with the judicial process completed and the former Premier convicted. New Delhi is said to be studying Dhaka’s extradition request.
Hundreds of families who lost loved ones in the protests wonder if the deposed Prime Minister will actually face justice.
READ ALSO: NHIA Boss Reviews NHIS Growth, Illegal Fees, and Tariff Reform
