Nobel laureate Yunus convicted of labour law violations, gets bail

Dhaka, January 1

Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus was on Monday sentenced to six months in jail by a court for violating the labour laws, a verdict termed as politically motivated by his supporters ahead of the January 7 general elections.

The 83-year-old economist, who was present in court, sought bail after the ruling, which Third Labour Court Judge Sheikh Merina Sultana granted immediately for a month in exchange for a Taka 5,000 (USD 45) bond. The court gave the defence 30 days to appeal.

Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his anti-poverty campaign, earning Bangladesh the reputation of being the home of microcredit through his Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983.

Yunus and three of his colleagues in Grameen Telecom, one of the firms he founded, were accused of violating labour laws when they failed to create a workers’ welfare fund in the company.

Judge Sultana ordered Yunus to serve six months of simple or non-rigorous imprisonment for violating the law as the Grameen Telecom chairman, along with three other executives of the social business company.

Describing the judgment as politically motivated, his supporters said the charges were filed to harass him. Last month, after a court appearance for the hearing, Yunus rejected claims of profiting from Grameen Telecom or any of the more than 50 social business firms he founded in Bangladesh. Grameen Telecom owns 34% of Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone company, Grameenphone.