Trial of Prof Yunus underway very transparently: Hasan Mahmud

Foreign Minister Has an Mahmud talking to reporters in Dhaka on Thursday.

Dhaka, Feb 14 - Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday reiterated that the trial regarding the case against Nobel laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus is underway very transparently.

"Bangladesh's judiciary is very transparent. Trial against Prof Yunus is going on in a very transparent way," he said, adding that securing bail is the evidence that the trial is underway very transparently.

Dr Hasan said the aggrieved people of Yunus' organisation filed the cases, and the government is not a party to that.

He made the remarks when a journalist drew his attention regarding the remarks made by the US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller on February 13.

Yunus on January 28 claimed that it was the government, not the workers of his company, who filed the labour law violation case against him.

"I would say regarding the multiple criminal cases filed against Dr. Muhammad Yunus, we note that the labour case was tried with unusual speed," Spokesperson Miller told reporters in a regular briefing in Washington on February 13.

The Anti-corruption Commission has approved a chargesheet for additional cases, he said, adding  that those have drawn widespread condemnation from around the world.

"We share the concerns voiced by other international observers that these cases may represent a misuse of Bangladesh’s labour laws to harass and intimidate Dr. Yunus. We worry the perceived misuse of labour and anti-corruption laws could raise questions about the rule of law and dissuade future foreign direct investment," Miller said.

He said they encourage the Bangladesh Government to ensure a "fair and transparent" legal process for Yunus as the appeals process continues. - UNB