DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - A judge in Bangladesh has issued an arrest warrant for Tulip Siddiq, a British Member of Parliament and former Labor Minister, who is also a niece of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The warrant comes amidst an investigation by the country's Anti-Corruption Commission into allegations that Siddiq and her family illegally received land in a state-funded township project near the capital, Dhaka.
The order was passed by Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain on Sunday, following the consideration of charges filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in three separate cases. The warrant names Siddiq along with over 50 others, including her mother, Sheikh Rehana, and her brother, Radwan Siddiq, as reported by the prominent Bengali-language newspaper, Prothom Alo.
Siddiq, who represents Hampstead and Highgate, resigned from her position as economic secretary to the Treasury in January. She faces multiple allegations of corruption linked to her family members in Bangladesh. However, Siddiq's aunt, Hasina, and her Bangladesh Awami League party have claimed that these charges are politically motivated and aimed at tarnishing the family's reputation. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father, is known as the leader of Bangladesh's independence movement, with the country gaining independence in 1971 following a nine-month war against Pakistan.
Since being ousted on August 5 last year, Hasina has sought refuge in India. Following her removal from power, Siddiq's family home in the upscale Gulshan area of Dhaka was reportedly looted and vandalized, yet no police report has been filed regarding the incident. Hasina has accused the interim administration led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus of inciting mobs to attack her supporters nationwide, although the home affairs adviser claims they are working to reestablish order in the country.
The BBC has cited Siddiq's lawyers, who assert that the charges against her are politically motivated. In December, Siddiq was implicated in an anti-corruption investigation related directly to Hasina. This investigation alleged that Siddiq's family played a role in brokering a deal with Russia in 2013 for a nuclear power plant project in Bangladesh, in which significant embezzlement had been purportedly involved.
Siddiq resigned from her ministerial position in January, stating that she had been cleared of any wrongdoing but believed the ongoing controversy was distracting from government operations. At 42 years old, Siddiq is a former local councilor who was elected as a lawmaker for a north London district in 2015. She was appointed to her government role following a landslide electoral victory by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's center-left Labor Party in July of the previous year.
