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Published on December 1, 2025
Today’s court verdict, brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), was entirely predictable. Just as other recent ACC cases have been - since it is clear that the ACC itself is a political mechanism used for political ends by desperate, unelected men.
The allegations against Sheikh Hasina, her sister, and many others including members of her immediate and wider family are firmly denied. No persuasive evidence of corruption was heard at the ACC, because none exists. Defendants did not have proper legal representation at the ACC and were judged in absentia.
The process fails to pass any reasonable test of judicial fairness – a point that has been made forcefully by both local and international legal experts.
Dr Mohammad Yunus, an unelected figure currently holding power in Bangladesh, has expanded his personal grudge against Sheikh Hasina. Despite having no evidence, Yunus is now accusing elected officials outside of Bangladesh. This judicial and diplomatic fiasco is self-defeating for Bangladesh and damages our country’s international standing.
Sheikh Hasina said:
“No country is free from corruption. But corruption needs to be investigated in a way that is not itself corrupt. The ACC has failed that test today. It is controlled by an unelected government run by the Awami League’s political opponents. It has exclusively targeted members of the Awami League, or those seen to be sympathetic to our party, and done nothing to prosecute or even investigate the cronyism that has escalated in Bangladesh since Dr Mohammad Yunus and his so-called interim government took power.
“Yunus is using the ACC as a smokescreen to distract attention from his own governance failings. He is also using it to suppress a political party that was elected nine times since Independence, including the last time Bangladeshis were allowed to go to the polls. He recently banned the Awami League from taking part in next year’s elections - thus disenfranchising millions of voters and undermining our troubled country’s chances of achieving a genuine political reconciliation.
“This serves only the interests of Yunus and his ragtag coalition of extremists and opportunists. The whole affair risks badly damaging Bangladesh’s standing with key trading partners.”
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