Bangladesh ‘Starts Process’ to Force Tulip Siddiq to Face Charges – Guido Fawkes

Bangladesh ‘Starts Process’ to Force Tulip Siddiq to Face Charges

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Things are moving since a court in Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant for Tulip Siddiq – Judge Mohammad Jakir Hossain has set 27 April as the implementation date for the warrant. The Anti-Corruption Commission, which brought the charges, says it is taking steps to bring Siddiq back to Bangladesh…

Siddiq has always claimed she was never contacted by Bangladeshi authorities – the answer to that mystery has appeared this morning. The ACC says it delivered three separate notices to the MP’s Dhaka address over two months seeking her statement on alleged irregularities over land allocations. This is due to the fact she allegedly has a registered address as stated in her National Identity Card and tax records, according to authorities in Bangladesh. Her team has not commented on her alleged possession of dual nationality…

ACC head Hafiz Ahsan Farid has explained their first steps for Siddiq’s return:

“We have sent documents from here to the Ministry of Home Affairs which is called a Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR). It will go to the foreign embassy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From there it will go to the Bangladesh embassy. We have started that work. The ACC has started the process to bring them back. A case has been filed against her as a Bangladeshi citizen… We do not consider her a foreign citizen. When the case was filed she was staying abroad. Initiatives will be taken to bring her back.”

Siddiq and her lawyers deny all wrongdoing. The ACC has said it would consider requesting an Interpol red notice for arrest if it was forced to do so. If things come to extradition proceedings it will be for Yvette Cooper to decide Siddiq’s fate…