Nobel Laureate Yunus to continue work: AI condemns verdict

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Dr. Yunus vows to continue work, urges united voice for democracy. I will continue to serve the people of Bangladesh and the social business movement to the best of my ability. As my lawyers have convincingly argued in court, the 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 ctizens, according to a Yunus Centre .

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has condemned the conviction of Bangladesh's Nobel laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus by a Dhaka labour court, calling it "emblematic of the beleaguered state of human rights" in the country where critics are "bulldozed" into submission.

The 83-year-old economist was on January 1 sentenced to six months in jail by a court for violating the labour laws, which was termed as "politically motivated" by his supporters ahead of the January 7 general elections. He sought bail after the ruling, which he was granted immediately for a month in exchange for a Taka 5,000 (USD 45) bond.

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.

In a post on the social media platform X, Amnesty International's South Asia regional office said, "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 human rights organisation said that the unusual speed at which the trial against Yunus was completed starkly contrasts the "snail-paced progress" in other labour rights-related court cases in the country.

"The abuse of labour laws and misuse of the justice system to settle political vendettas is a violation of international human rights law," it said. – GW News Desk