Dr Yunus acquitted, sentence overturned in labour law case

Dr Muhammad Yunus has been acquitted from the prison sentence handed down by the labor court in a case over labour law violations.

The Labour Appellate Tribunal delivered the verdict on Wednesday after hearing the appeals submitted by Dr Yunus and others against the previous ruling, Dr Yunus's lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun confirmed.

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

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 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.

After one of the hearings, he told reporters that he had not profited from any of the more than 50 social business firms he had set up in Bangladesh, reports AFP.

"They were not for my personal benefit," Yunus said.

In August last year, 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.