A Dhaka court has begun hearing witness testimony in corruption cases against British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and several members of her family.

The cases relate to alleged irregularities in land allocations in Purbachal New Town, a government housing project near the capital. Alongside Siddiq, the accused include her mother Sheikh Rehana, brother Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and sister Azmira Siddiq Ruponti. On 31 July, two special courts in Dhaka framed charges in six separate corruption cases against Hasina, members of her family, and more than 20 other accused. The Anti-Corruption Commission alleges that the former prime minister and her relatives were unlawfully allotted six plots of 10 kathas each in December, in violation of rules.

On 11 August, witness testimony also began in three other cases tied to the same project, in which Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul are named as defendants. Hasina and her family have been living abroad since she was ousted from power on 5 August 2024 in a mass uprising.

Tulip Siddiq, who is the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn in London, has rejected the allegations, calling them “politically motivated”. She said she has not received any formal summons from the Bangladeshi authorities. Both Hasina and Siddiq deny wrongdoing. The US State Department, in its annual human rights report released earlier this week, noted that while rights conditions in Bangladesh had become more stable under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government, concerns remained, particularly over judicial independence and political freedoms. Bangladesh’s interim government has vowed to ensure accountability for past abuses and corruption, though rights groups have warned that deep institutional reforms will be required to restore long-term stability.