A court in Bangladesh has sentenced noble laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in jail for violating the country’s labour laws.
Lead prosecutor Khurshid Alam told AFP news agency on Monday: “Professor Yunus and three of his Grameen Telecom colleagues were convicted under labour laws and sentenced to six months in simple imprisonment.”
All four were granted bail at the hearing in Dhaka on Tuesday and the court gave them 30 days to appeal the verdict.
The head of the Third Labour Court of Dhaka said in her verdict that Yunus’ company violated Bangladeshi labour laws. She said at least 67 Grameen Telecom employees were supposed to be made permanent but were not and a “welfare fund” to support workers was never formed.
Sheik Merina Sultuna added that five percent of the company’s shares were supposed to be distributed to staff following company policy.
She found Yunus as chairman of the company, and three other company directors guilty, sentencing each to six months in jail.
Yunus, who is known as the “banker of the poor," is credited with pioneering the concept of microcredit and microfinance to help impoverished people. He was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2006 jointly with Grameen Bank.
He is also facing 100 other charges including alleged corruption and embezzlement.
In a statement, the 83-year-old said: “As my lawyers have convincingly argued in court, this verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic.
"I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favour of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens."
This verdict comes ahead of Bangladesh’s general election on January 7.
Prime Minister Sheik Hasina has previously called Yunus a “bloodsucker” of the poor and accused Grameen Bank of exploiting them.
Yunus was ousted as the managing director of Grameen Bank in 2011, after Ms Hasina’s administration began a review of the bank’s activities.
In August more than 170 global figures, including Barack Obama and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called on Ms Hasina in a letter to stop the “persecution” of Yunus.
Ms Hasina said she welcomes international experts to come and asses the charges against Yunus and examine the legal proceedings.
