Verdict on Yunus won't affect relations with US: Foreign Secretary
Bangladesh's relationship with the United States (US) will not be affected by the verdict over Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said today (1 January).
Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, "It's normal and obvious that an individual would not impact the relationship between two states."
He made the remarks in reference to Dr Yunus and three others being sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined Tk25,000 each in a case filed on charges of violating labour law.
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The court also granted Dr Yunus a month's bail, on condition of filing an appeal against the verdict.
The foreign secretary further said, "This has happened through our legal process and he [Dr Yunus] has the scope to appeal, and has even got [one month's] bail."
"Therefore, this is an ongoing legal process. I don't wish to comment any further."
Commenting on issues related to the labour sector, the foreign secretary said, "There are some issues of our labour sector with the European Union and the United States, which have been being worked on for the last few years. We want to work more seriously on these matters."
"We [Bangladesh] will try to implement internally the roadmap we have with the International Labour Organization and the European Union on labour issues.
"We are quite careful about the demands of our workers. Many steps have been taken against child labour and more should be done [in this regard]. These [issues] have nothing to do with the elections."
Besides Dr Yunus, the other three accused in the case are Grameen Telecom's director and former managing director Md Ashraful Hasan, members of Board of Directors Nur Jahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.
Dhaka's labour court Judge Sheikh Merina Sultana announced the verdict today.
The court also said failure to pay the fine would lead to an additional 15 days in jail.
The charges against Dr Yunus include failing to provide a 5% dividend to the workers, not regularising 101 staff, and not compensating workers for public holidays.
Following the verdict, Dr Yunus told reporters, "We are being punished for a crime we did not commit. It was my fate, the nation's fate. We have accepted this verdict, but will appeal against this verdict and continue fighting against this sentence."
While reading out the verdict the court said, "The defendant complemented the Nobel-winning international figure for fighting poverty. But Nobel laureate Yunus is not being tried in this court, he is being tried as the chairman of Grameen Telecom. And allegations of violation of labour law have been proven against him."
On 24 December, Judge Sheikh Merina Sultana of Dhaka's 3rd Labour Court fixed 1 January for pronouncing the verdict.
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case on 9 September 2021, and the court had summoned the four to appear before it by 12 October 2021.
According to the case documents, a team of the DIFE went on an inspection to the Grameen Telecom and found the violations of labour laws like not regularising 101 staff and not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, among others.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on 20 August dismissed the leave to appeal petition filed by Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, challenging a High Court verdict that rejected his petition against the labour court's indictment order.
On 23 July this year, a High Court bench issued a rule asking the state to explain why the labour court order that framed charges against Dr Yunus and three others should not be scrapped, followed by an application submitted on 19 May by the noble laureate. The High Court on 8 August scrapped the rule.
Earlier, DIFE lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said they have sought the highest punishment of Dr Muhammad Yunus and the three others in the case.
