Overview
- An open letter hand-delivered to Bangladesh’s High Commission in London warns the proceedings are contrived and unfair, with signatories including Robert Buckland, Dominic Grieve, Cherie Blair, Philippe Sands and Geoffrey Robertson.
- The lawyers say Siddiq has not been given the charges or evidence, has been unable to secure counsel, and that a lawyer she appointed reported house arrest and threats to his daughter.
- Dhaka’s court is poised to deliver a verdict in absentia within days, with prosecutors seeking the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
- Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission alleges Siddiq benefited from a 7,200 sq ft diplomatic‑zone plot obtained through abuse of power, which she rejects as politically motivated.
- The case unfolds as former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Siddiq’s aunt, was recently sentenced to death in a separate trial, intensifying scrutiny of the interim government’s legal actions.