Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus,83, Sentenced To Jail

DHAKA, (ANI) – Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been sentenced to six-month imprisonment along with three senior officials and fined 30,000 Takas each for violating labor laws.

The charges include not providing a 5 percent dividend to workers, failing to regularize staff, and neglecting compensation for public holidays.

Reading out the 84-page verdict, the court said, “The defense complimented the accused No. 1, Yunus, who is a Nobel-winning international figure for fighting poverty. But Nobel laureate Yunus is not being tried in this court; he is being tried as the chairman of Grameen Telecom. The allegations of violation of labor law have been proven against him”.

The 83-year-old, who implemented the path breaking micro-finance loans to help the very poor and is celebrated around the world, was granted bail pending appeal.

Yunus called the judgement “contrary to all legal precedent and logic.” Independent media and his supporters have said the case was politically motivated. The Nobel laureate has a cold relationship with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been quoted as saying he was “sucking blood” from the poor.

Khurshid Alam Khan, the lawyer representing the Directorate of Factories, expressed contentment with the verdict and said they were able to prove the charges and those violating the law will have to face action.

Charges were framed against Yunus and three others in the case on June 6, 2023. Later, on July 23 of the same year, a High Court bench issued a rule, directing the state to explain why the labor court’s charge-framing order should not be annulled.

This action followed an application submitted on May 19 by the accused. Ultimately, on August 8, the High Court dismissed the rule.