Yunus' Conviction A Blatant Abuse Of Justice System: AI

Amnesty International said the conviction of 83-year-old Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus is an abuse of labour laws and misuse of the justice system to settle political vendettas.

"Amnesty International believes that initiating criminal proceedings against Mohammad Yunus and his colleagues for issues that belong to the civil and administrative arena is a blatant abuse of labour laws and the justice system and a form of political retaliation for his work and dissent," reads a statement issued by the organisation on its X handle on Monday (January 1).

It stated that the conviction of Yunus is emblematic of the beleaguered state of human rights in Bangladesh, where the authorities have eroded freedoms and bulldozed critics into submission.

"The unusual speed in which the trial against Mohammad Yunus was completed stands in stark contrast to the snail-paced progress in other labour rights-related court cases in Bangladesh," the statement added.

"The abuse of labor laws and misuse of the justice system to settle political vendettas is a violation of international human rights law," said the international human rights organisation.

A Dhaka Labour Court on Monday sentenced Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and three other senior officials of the organisation to six months imprisonment and fined Tk30,000 each in a case filed on charges of violating labour law.

The charges include failing to provide a 5% dividend to the Grameen Telecom workers, not regularising 101 staff, and not compensating workers for public holidays.