A bipartisan group of US Senators, led by Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senator Todd Young, sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, expressing concern over the alleged harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who was convicted by a Bangladesh labor law court in early January.
The letter addressed to Hasina urges an end to the harassment of Yunus and the broader misuse of the justice system to target government critics in Bangladesh. The senators wrote that Yunus has faced more than 150 unsubstantiated cases over the past decade, with concerns raised by international entities such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) and Amnesty International about irregularities in legal proceedings.
The senators highlighted the potential political motivation behind these actions and expressed concern over the restrictive environment faced by Bangladesh’s civil society. Emphasizing Yunus’ contributions to microfinance and poverty alleviation, the letter stresses that ongoing political vendettas should not undermine such efforts.
The letter concludes by stating:
The United States values its longstanding relationship with Bangladesh, which includes close bilateral and multilateral coordination on numerous common interests. Ending the harassment of Professor Yunus and others exercising their freedom of speech to criticize the government will help continue this important relationship.
Professor Muhammad Yunus is a Nobel Peace Laureate known for his work in poverty alleviation through microfinance. He founded Grameen Bank in 1976, introducing the concept of microcredit, providing small loans to the poor without collateral. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Yunus and three associates from Grameen Telecom, a company founded by Yunus, were convicted by a Bangladeshi labor court for violating the country’s labor laws. Each received a six-month jail sentence, but they were immediately granted bail pending appeal. The charges relate to the employment status of 67 workers and the company’s alleged failure to allocate a percentage of profits to worker funds. Grameen Telecom argued that employees were on contractual terms and their not-for-profit status exempted them from profit allocation requirements.
Grameen Telecom claimed the charges were a malicious attempt to harass Yunus and associates, and Amnesty International condemned the verdict as an abuse of labor laws and the justice system, linking it to Yunus’ work and political dissent. In August 2023, a group of 208 Nobel laureates, including Barack Obama, called for an end to Yunus’ alleged harassment.
