LONDON — British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq on Monday dismissed a Bangladeshi arrest warrant against her as a “politically motivated smear campaign.”
Siddiq is the niece of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned following widespread protests against her rule in August 2024.
Hasina fled Bangladesh last year after more than a decade in charge, and is facing allegations of corruption and embezzlement in an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) probe launched by the new Bangladeshi government that succeeded her.
Siddiq quit the British government in January amid pressure over the row, and is being investigated by the ACC over allegations she illegally received a 7,200 sq ft plot of land in the country’s capital, Dhaka.
Speaking to Sky News outside her home Monday, Siddiq said she had yet to be contacted by Bangladeshi authorities and hit out at what she called a “trial by media.”
“I can’t dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any comment,” she said, accusing Bangladeshi authorities of “trying to harass me”.
There is “no evidence” I’ve done anything wrong,” Siddiq added.
The ACC has issued arrest warrants for 50 individuals including Hasina, Siddiq’s mother and other family members, Bangladesh’s state news agency reported. The U.K. has no extradition treaty with Bangladesh that would facilitate her removal to the country.
Siddiq’s lawyers said Sunday that the claims against her are “completely false” and “politically motivated.” An internal British government probe concluded that Siddiq had not broken ministerial rules, but said it “regrettable” that she “was not more alert to the potential reputational risks — both to her and the government — arising from her close family’s association with Bangladesh.”
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