Dhaka, Aug 11 (V7N) – The trial of British Member of Parliament Tulip Siddique, niece of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and others accused in the illegal Purbachal plot and flat corruption case is set to begin on Monday. On the eve of the proceedings, Siddique spoke to The Guardian, rejecting the allegations against her.

Siddique said she had not received any formal summons and only learned of the case from a journalist through her lawyer last week. Calling the charges “completely absurd,” she nonetheless admitted that corruption occurred during the Awami League’s rule. “There is no doubt that many people have done bad things in Bangladesh. They should be punished for this. But I am not one of those bad people,” she stated.

Describing the situation as a “Kafkaesque nightmare,” Siddique claimed she did not know the specific charges against her. “I am close to a show-case trial in a foreign country… I do not yet know what the charges are and what the trial is about,” she said.

She also faces allegations of embezzlement linked to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, including claims she traveled to Russia with Sheikh Hasina in 2013. Siddique insisted she went to Russia privately that year, met Hasina, and spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for only two minutes.

The MP alleged she had been drawn into the political conflict between Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus and her aunt. “The truth is that I am caught in the middle of the conflict between Muhammad Yunus and my aunt. These are the big issues that I am fighting against,” she told The Guardian.

Commenting on the genocide corruption investigation into Sheikh Hasina, Siddique said, “I am not defending my aunt. I know there is an investigation into how her government ended. I hope the people of Bangladesh get what they want.”

END/RH/AJ