History Will Be Made Tomorrow in Bangladesh

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Tomorrow will be an important day in the history of Bangladesh.

Tomorrow we will likely learn whether Bangladesh is governed by the rule of law, or the rule of one—one pursuing a political vendetta.

Tomorrow is the day when Professor Yunus and his colleagues go to court to face ridiculous charges from the Labor Law Tribunal and the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Just in time to put the labor law charges in proper context, the Clooney Foundation for Justice released an important report debunking this case against Professor Yunus.  The report was meticulously researched over many months.

The carefully but also strongly worded press release 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 Labor Appellate Tribunal to overturn the conviction for alleged violations of the country’s labor law.”

It continued, “TrialWatch calls on Bangladesh’s Labor Appellate Tribunal to overturn the conviction of Yunus and his co-defendants.”

Also pay attention to what the Anti-Corruption Commission reports. It has the power to impose a much longer prison sentence on the 83-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate and his co-defendants. It may also endorse the Grameen Bank chairman’s contention that independent, nonprofit Grameen companies established by Professor Yunus are somehow subsidiaries of Grameen Bank.

Under Bangladeshi law and the law of many other nations, nonprofits can’t be subsidiaries of any other organization, as they have no owners per se. (The frequent claim by the government and its allies that Professor Yunus “owns” these companies is likewise false.) Nonprofit organizations are organized under the laws of their country of incorporation, and they are governed by a board of directors elected in accordance with their bylaws. The boards of directors of all 8 companies that were recently occupied by people claiming association with Grameen Bank do not seek to be taken over by any other institution.  

It may very well be that Grameen Bank and the Bangladeshi government covet these successful organizations established by Professor Yunus. But in a nation of laws, it does not give them the right to take them over and, most likely, plunder them and run them into the ground. Their independence and ability to pursue their poverty-fighting missions are essential. The extent to which the Bangladeshi courts respect these attributes will go a long way to telling the world the direction in which the country is headed.

Why Grameen Bank Can’t Take Over Other Grameen Companies

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

The case, if it can be called that, for taking over Grameen Kalyan, Grameen Telecom, and six other Grameen companies rests on the mistaken claim that Grameen Bank can nominate the chairmen and managing directors of these organizations. (And even if that were true, to do so by force is contrary to the rule of law.)

But the reality is that Grameen Bank does not have this power. It is important to understand why this is the case. The reasons why it can’t do this were explained concisely in an excellent analysis published earlier this week by United News of Bangladesh. Highlights of the article, which asserts that this takeover represents “an effort to weaponize Dr Yunus’ most prized achievement, Grameen Bank, against him,” appear below:

Nazmul Islam, managing director of Grameen Telecom, revealed that the intruders [who invaded their offices on February 12], claiming [an] association with Grameen Bank, cited a 1995 Act to justify their actions, suggesting Grameen Bank had the authority to change Grameen Kalyan’s leadership.

However, Nazmul Islam clarified that this claim was erroneous, as the relevant rule was amended in 2009 and Grameen Kalyan operates independently…

The legal issues were then more clearly explained in a second press conference held by Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun, legal advisor to Grameen Telecom….

He said according to articles of association drawn up in 1995 and 1996, Grameen Bank had the authority to nominate, not appoint — a key difference — three directors to the board of Grameen Telecom and two to the board of Grameen Kalyan. They could also nominate the chairman.

Using muscle power, Grameen Bank was now apparently forcefully appointing the chairman of the two entities, but this was unlawful, Barrister Mamun said.

“Their nominations have to be accepted in a meeting by the two entities themselves. There is no scope for them to force their choice and seat them as the chair or director,” he said. “Besides, after the changes in 2009, the articles of association were changed and notified to the Joint Stock Registrar of Companies.”

As this conflict plays out, we are going to find out soon whether the rule of law has survived in any noticeable form in today’s Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi Experts Respond to Two Common Government Critiques of the Calls for Justice for Prof. Yunus

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Two Mondays ago, 12 U.S. Senators from both major political parties called for justice for Professor Muhammad Yunus in a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Last Monday, 247 global leaders including 127 Nobel laureates wrote their own letter demanding that the persecution stop and proposing a pathway to independently examining the meritless charges against Dr. Yunus.

The responses from the Bangladeshi government have centered on two critiques of the letters.

The first was that the Bangladeshi legal system is independent from politics and is trustworthy, therefore arguing that the “political vendettas” referred to in the Senators’ letter were no factor in the January 1 verdict against Professor Yunus and his three co-defendants.

The second was that the labor law case was brought against Professor Yunus by aggrieved employees of Grameen Telecom, rather than by the government. In that case, the government’s only role was to let the judicial process take its course between two private parties.

Let us examine these in turn, drawing not on the analysis of foreigners, but rather on those of respected experts in Bangladesh.

On the first point, let’s listen to Professor Rehman Sobhan, one of the leading public intellectuals in Bangladesh’s history, the founder of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, and the former Director General of the Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies. He wrote a compelling analysis of the legal harassment of Professor Yunus in the Dhaka Tribune and the Daily Star, which was also picked up in India.

Titled “For Whom the Bell Tolls?”, it demolishes the idea that the labor law case against Professor Yunus has any merit. He cites the degradation of the state’s competence and independence under the current Prime Minister as the only reason the case could have proceeded so far. He writes bitingly, “The [labor law] case of Professor Yunus is symptomatic of this erosion in the credibility of our institutions [in Bangladesh]. The triviality and narrowness of the case against Yunus would not have made it to first base in any well-functioning judicial system.” Please read his depressing yet highly cogent critique of the argument that the conviction is trustworthy because of the supposed independence and competence of the Bangladeshi legal system.

Now let us turn to the idea that the litigants in the labor law case are Grameen Telecom’s employees and Grameen Telecom’s 4 convicted board members. (We will ignore for the moment that even if it were true that the employees were a party to the case, the defendant should be the company itself–not 4 of its board members–and that it should be a civil rather than criminal case, according to Bangladeshi law.) In response to the claim that the employees brought the case, Shayan S. Khan, the editor of the venerable Dhaka Courier—a highly respected, 40-year-old weekly newsmagazine in Bangladesh—updated an earlier article and wrote forcefully that the true litigants were the Bangladesh government on the one hand, and Grameen Telecom and its board members on the other.

In his article, titled “So Who Filed the Case Against Professor Yunus?”, he concludes the following after his painstakingly researched and reported analysis: “Yet, as far as the workers’ involvement in the government’s case goes, we have seen enough to conclude that not only did they not file the case, but they hardly played any part in it at all.”

But one thing is sure: the government will continue to repeat these debunked claims in the days ahead, just as they have argued that some unnamed lobbying firm spent $2 million to place a pro-Yunus ad in the Washington Post last March (a claim that was proven false here).

Yet with people like Professor Sobhan and Shayan Khan reporting the truth, we at the Protect Yunus Campaign are confident that the Bangladeshi people will see through these lies and understand what is actually happening: a travesty of justice.

An Immediate Call to Reverse the Unjust Conviction of Professor Muhammad Yunus

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Professor Muhammad Yunus, the 83-year-old recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and a pioneer of microfinance, is one of the great moral leaders and social innovators of our era. His work has materially benefited millions of Bangladeshis and others around the world, and he has inspired a generation of young people to pursue the social business model he has developed and other forms of advancing the common good.

His work and his example of selfless service to humanity should be lauded and embraced by people, organizations, and governments. Unfortunately, the Bangladeshi government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been engaged in sustained persecution of Professor Yunus since 2010. This outrageous campaign has culminated in an unjust verdict against Professor Yunus and three other board members of Grameen Telecom, a nonprofit organization he established. The verdict was announced on January 1, 2024, in Dhaka, the nation’s capital. The jail sentence was based on convictions passed down by a corrupt and biased legal system – in contravention of both the rule of law and the defendants’ human rights.

On January 1, 2024, Professor Yunus and three colleagues were convicted of labor law violations  and sentenced to six-months in jail and given one month bail to allow for appeals, following allegations of breaches of the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006 by Grameen Telecom relating to the classification of employees, annual leave entitlement, and employee profit-sharing.

Irene Khan, former chief of Amnesty International now working as a United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion, who was present at Monday’s verdict, said the conviction was “a travesty of justice… A social activist and Nobel laureate who brought honour and pride to the country is being persecuted on frivolous grounds,” she said.

“As my lawyers have convincingly argued in court, this verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic,” Professor Yunus said in a statement released after the verdict.

“I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favour of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens.”

Discussing the verdict, one of his lawyers, Abdullah Al Mamun, said, “It was an unprecedent judgement. No due legal process was followed in the case and it was rushed through.”

Mr. Mamun added, “The whole idea is to damage his international reputation. We are appealing against this verdict.”

In August 2023, 189 global leaders including 108 Nobel laureates objected to his unjust treatment in an open letter to the Prime Minister. Among the signers were Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Their letter began, “We write to you as Nobel Prize laureates, elected officials, and business and civil society leaders, and as friends of Bangladesh. We admire how your nation has made laudable progress since its independence in 1971.

“However, we are deeply concerned by the threats to democracy and human rights that we have observed in Bangladesh recently,” the letter continued. “We believe that it is of the utmost importance that the upcoming national election be free and fair, and that the administration of the election be acceptable to all major parties in the country. The previous two national elections lacked legitimacy.”

“One of the threats to human rights that concerns us in the present context is the case of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. We are alarmed that he has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment. This letter attempts to build upon an earlier appeal to you by 40 global leaders who were concerned about his safety and freedom.”

The leaders are similarly outraged by Professor Yunus’ conviction, and will be making their voices heard about it in the days ahead.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, one of the 189 signatories, said, “A leader like Muhammad Yunus should be celebrated and free to contribute to improving the lives of people and the planet. The last place he should be is in prison. I call for an immediate reversal of this unjust verdict.”

The international human rights community has also weighed in on this matter. In September 2023 Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard wrote this in a widely circulated statement: “Muhammad Yunus’s case is emblematic of the beleaguered state of human rights in Bangladesh…. The abuse of laws and misuse of the justice system to settle vendettas is inconsistent and incompatible with international human rights treaties…. It is time for the Government to put an end to this travesty of justice.”

An international law firm undertook a high-level review of the case that eventually led to Professor Yunus’ prison sentence. On the basis of that analysis, the Protect Yunus Campaign has concluded that Professor Yunus is facing up to six months in prison for a crime that he not only did not commit, but that legally does not exist.

The Protect Yunus Campaign, a network of people and organizations that has been established to ensure that Professor Yunus is safe and able to pursue his noble work, calls on the government of Bangladesh to immediately reverse this unjust verdict. This case—one of 199 that have been filed against him in one of the most egregious cases of judicial harassment in the country’s history—should, at worst, have led to a US$227 fine against Grameen Telecom, where Professor Yunus serves as non-executive chairman, an unsalaried position.

Instead, not only were the allegations entirely without merit, but the legal process that was followed was wrong in law. Professor Yunus was pursued criminally alongside his fellow defendants, when the Bangladesh Labor Act of 2006 only creates civil liability for alleged breaches of it. The route the case took, from the initial investigation to its subsequent passage through various layers of the Bangladeshi court system, has been inappropriate, and is clear evidence of the Bangladeshi authorities and judiciary’s sanctioning of the persecution of Professor Yunus. Supporters of Professor Yunus have seen judges who have initially challenged the prosecution fall in line with the state’s narrative. A miscarriage of justice has clearly occurred. (See the article “A Travesty of Justice, Guaranteed” for more background on the baseless nature of this case.)

Professor Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank and numerous other Social Business enterprises, lives a modest lifestyle in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He serves most of his companies as Chairman of the board without any financial compensation. As a matter of principle, he owns no property, assets, or shares in any company. Most of the money that he has earned through giving speeches and the sales of his books has been transferred to a charitable trust formed under Bangladeshi law. He is one of only seven people in history to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Protect Yunus Campaign calls on the Bangladeshi government to immediately cease all forms of harassment against Professor Yunus, including initiating and supporting frivolous lawsuits against him, accusing him of working against the interests of the nation he has served since its independence in 1971, smearing his name by making baseless claims about him, and conducting repeated audits of his personal finances that have turned up no improprieties. All of the other cases pending against him, including one by the so-called Anti-Corruption Commission, should either be dismissed or put on hold pending reviews by independent legal experts with the participation of internationally reputed lawyers.

During any time Professor Yunus and his colleagues spend in prison, they should be treated humanely with full access to their physicians, lawyers, and family.

Furthermore, the Bangladesh government should immediately cease all forms of its ongoing assaults on the country’s democracy, on human rights, and on freedom of the press.  

Those wishing to learn more about the persecution of Professor Yunus should visit the campaign’s website at https://protectyunus.wordpress.com, which includes a call to action outlining what concerned citizens can do. A detailed history of his persecution can be found here: https://protectyunus.wpcomstaging.com/background/

For more information contact: Sam Daley-Harris at sam@civiccourage.org.