DHAKA, Bangladesh: A Dhaka Special Court sentenced Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, this week to 21 years in prison in three corruption cases related to allocations of land in a government project.

Earlier this month, she was sentenced to death for the crackdown on the mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule last year. All of the trials have been conducted in absentia as she lives in exile in India.

Hasina had illegally secured plots in the Purbachal New Town project for herself and her family despite their ineligibility.

Dhaka Special Court Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun said Hasina would need to serve all three sentences of a seven-year term each, consecutively.

Her son Sajeeb Wazed and daughter Saima Wazed were handed five-year prison terms in one of the three cases.

The judge said all three were found guilty of "hiding information about" their property in Dhaka to illegally obtain three plots of land in the project.

Hasina and her former ruling party, the Awami League, have condemned the trials. Global human rights groups also questioned the credibility and fairness of the trial process.

In a message to The Associated Press after the verdict, another of Hasina's sons in Washington, D.C., said that the aim of the conviction was "to prevent any of my family (members) from running for elections" in the future.

"The charges against each of us were for purchasing a 1/6 acre plot of land, on the outskirts of Dhaka, in an empty area for $30,000 each. This was another rapid trial; we were not allowed to hire attorneys and received no communications. This was yet another kangaroo court judgment," he said.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the three cases against Hasina, her son, daughter, and others after her ouster. A verdict in another case is expected on December 1.

Bangladesh is undergoing a difficult political transition under an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. In February next year, there will be elections.