To say the least, the last few weeks have been busy for Professor Yunus, his colleagues, the Protect Yunus Campaign, and our many allies. On March 3, Professor Yunus appeared in person at 2 different court hearings. First, he went before the Labor Tribunal related to his appeal of the verdict rendered against him on January 1, and secondly, before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) related to its separate investigation of him. In both cases, he was given bail until April 16. The date of the next ACC hearing is April 2, the date of the next Labor Tribunal hearing is April 16. Also present in the courtroom on March 3 were representatives from the European Union, the United States, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Norway showing support for Professor Yunus.
Prior to the March 3 trial, there were 2 noteworthy statements of support from internationally recognized figures. One was this 2-minute-long video statement from British business magnate Richard Branson. Additionally, a statement by Ban Ki-moon, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, on behalf of The Elders, included these words: “Muhammad Yunus is a visionary leader who should be honoured by his country’s leaders, not subject to unjust persecution.”
These demonstrations of support were augmented by the release of an important report by The Clooney Foundation for Justice which was highly critical of the Bangladesh government’s treatment of Professor Yunus. The press release accompanying the report stated, “Based on its review of the proceedings, there are significant grounds for finding that the case against Professor Yunus constitutes an abuse of process, the report said, and it urges the Labour Appellate Tribunal to overturn the conviction for alleged violations of the country’s labour law.” The Clooney Foundation plans to continue to stay involved and will analyze the Anti-Corruption Commission Court case as well.
Professor Yunus continues to gather support both in Bangladesh and internationally by telling his story by speaking with media outlets. 2 of the interviews that have been done in Bengali are Deutsche Welle Bangla and BBC Bangla. He also sat down with Christiane Amanpour of CNN for a widely viewed interview. Additionally, he was interviewed by Fred de Sam Lazaro for the series, Agents for Change on PBS, which had a lot of helpful context as to why this case is constitutes of violation of the victims’ human rights. His interview with Die Zeit Online was also seen around the world. Additionally, The World of Three Zero’s documentary was released early by the filmmakers due to this unthinkable treatment of this 83-year-old Nobel Laureate.
Support from global leaders and concerned citizens around the world continues to make a huge difference in keeping Professor Yunus free and able to do his vitally important work. More acts of solidarity will be needed since he only received a brief reprieve on March 3.