Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus convicted in Bangladesh labour law case (updated)

Altin Yunus Cesme Turistik Tesisler

01/01/2024 11:02

(Adds details)
       DHAKA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - A court in Bangladesh on Monday
sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months’
imprisonment for labour law violations, prosecutors said, a case
his supporters have claimed is politically motivated.
    Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for
their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny
loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering
a global movement now known as microcredit.
    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, accused him of
'sucking blood from the poor'. His supporters say the government
is attempting to discredit him because he once considered
setting up a political party to rival Hasina's Awami League.
    Yunus and three employees from Grameen Telecom, a company he
founded, were convicted on Monday of violating labour laws.
Responding to petitions submitted by the convicts, the court
however granted them bail pending a possible appeal.
    "The court granted their bail, giving them one month to file
an appeal against the verdict of the court," prosecutor Khurshid
Alam Khan said.
    Khaja Tanvir, one of Yunus' lawyers, said the case is
politically motivated and targeted at harassing Yunus.
    Human rights groups have accused the government of Hasina,
who is seeking her fourth consecutive term of five in an
election on Jan. 7, of targeting political dissent.

 (Reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Nilutpal Timsina in
Bengaluru: Editing by Neil Fullick and Jan Harvey)
 ((Nilutpal.Timsina@thomsonreuters.com; +91 86382 04706;))