34 citizens protest against 'harassment' of Dr Yunus

A total of 34 citizens of the country have expressed concern over the incumbent government's behaviour towards Dr Muhammad Yunus and the labour law violation case against him.

In a joint statement sent to the media on Sunday, they urged the government to stop all "harassing actions" and "one-sided investigation" against the Nobel Peace Prize winning economist.

"Recently, a criminal case has been filed in the Labour Court against Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus and some of his colleagues at Grameen Telecom on accusations of violating labor law. His [Yunus'] lawyers said that although the allegations are civil in nature, the criminal case was filed on behalf of the government. The role of the government in settling this case at an unusual speed is now becoming visible," said the noted citizens.

"We appeal to the government to stop all harassment and unilateral actions against Dr Yunus," they added.

The 34 citizens include educationist Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, former advisor to caretaker government Hafiz Uddin Khan, human rights activist Hamida Hossain, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder, economist Debapriya Bhattacharya, secretary of Shujan Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, legal expert Shahdeen Malik, human rights activist Sharmeen Murshid, environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Prof Ali Riaz, Dr Asif Nazrul, photographer Shahidul Alam, Prof CR Abrar, Prof Parveen Hasan, Prof Firdous Azim, human rights activist Shireen Haque, and anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed.

They alleged that in the name of summons, investigation and interrogation earlier, Dr Yunus was harassed by various institutions of the government. Apart from this, there are various kinds of complaints against him from different levels of the government. 

"In view of all these, we feel that there is reason to believe that the incident of filing a criminal case against him in the Labour Court was intentional. We are deeply concerned about this," they further said.

"Prof Dr Yunus has established himself as a respected person in the world for working to improve the condition of extremely poor and underprivileged people. He has brought a rare honour to Bangladesh by winning various medals and awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal," reads the statement.

"Various harassing measures against him on the wrap of legal and administrative action are damaging his career and sending a negative message to the world," said the noted citizens.