A total of 14 eminent citizens, including economists, rights activists, and educationists have expressed their deep concern at the recent verdict delivered against Professor Muhammad Yunus and his three colleagues at Grameen Telecom.

A joint statement, issued by economist Hossain Zillur Rahman right activists Hameeda Hossain, Khushi Kabir, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Shaheen Anam, Shireen P Huq, Shamsul Huda, and others said in an expedited proceeding,  Professor Yunus and three others of Grameen Telecom received jail terms, whereas the victims of Rana Plaza tragedy still await justice. 

They said that the legal proceedings in Dr Yunus’ case were concluded in incredible haste against a non-executive chair of a board who has no direct involvement in daily operations. 

“This is rightly perceived as weaponizing public systems for harassment, which only conveys a negative message about the state of shrinking civic space in Bangladesh and shakes people’s confidence in the justice system, which is often their last resort for redress,” the statement reads.
 
They called upon all concerned to follow the due process in an objective, transparent and non-motivated way. 

“We urge the authorities to stop the motivated and biased use of law to harass Professor Muhammad Yunus. We also urge all to recognize the importance of protecting the civic space and halt all ongoing harassing actions against civil society groups and their leadership for Bangladesh’s journey to inclusive prosperity,” the statement adds. 

On January 1, a Dhaka court sentenced Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three others to six months in jail over labour law violations.

Dhaka Labour Court 3 judge Sheikh Marina Sultana announced the verdict and later granted them bail after they filed separate petitions.

The court also fined them Tk5,000 under one section and Tk25,000 under another, in default of which they would have to spend an additional 10 and 15 days in prison.

The labour court gave them one month to file an appeal in the High Court to challenge the judgement. 

Three other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom CEO Md Ashraful Hassan, Managing Director M Shahjahan and Trustee Nurjahan Begum.

Dr Yunus was facing more than 100 other charges over labour law violations and alleged graft. 
In August, 160 global figures, including former US president Barack Obama and ex-UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, published a joint letter denouncing "continuous judicial harassment" of Yunus.

The signatories, including over 100 of his fellow Nobel laureates, said they feared for "his safety and freedom".

On September 9, 2021, a case was filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment against Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others for violating labour laws.

According to case files, the department noticed several labour law violations during an inspection at Grameen Telecom.

The violations include failing to permanent the jobs of 101 workers and employees, not forming a workers' participation fund and welfare fund, and failing to provide 5% of the company's dividend to workers.