More Support from Senator Durbin and Leading Human Rights Organizations

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

As noted in our previous post, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin and three colleagues recently released a strong statement of support for Professor Yunus. Senator Durbin recently demonstrated his steadfast commitment to justice for Professor Yunus by following the joint statement with a powerful speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Durbin called out the Bangladeshi government for levying fraudulent charges against Professor Yunus. He concluded his speech by saying, “Quite simply, what is happening to Professor Muhammad Yunus is a travesty that will seriously harm our [nation’s] relationship with Bangladesh. It must stop immediately. Enough.” A video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here. His speech was covered in the Bangladesh media, including in The Daily Star.

Support for Professor Yunus from the human rights community also continues to grow. The CIVICUS Global Civil Society Alliance and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) called on the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately end the ongoing judicial harassment of Muhammad Yunus. Their statement included these powerful words, “The judicial harassment of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus seems to be vindictive and politically motivated and highlights the systematic targeting of civil society and critics by the Sheikh Hasina regime. The authorities must halt this abuse of the judicial system to persecute Yunus and end this travesty of justice.”

This statement comes after strong support from other human rights organizations such as The Clooney Foundation for Justice, Amnesty International and RFK Human Rights. (The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch was one of the signers of a January open letter to the Prime Minister demanding that she end the persecution of Professor Yunus.)

New coverage of Yunus’ persecution has just come out in Voice of America. The article quotes a courageous expert in Dhaka speaking about the reasons for the mistreatment and the likelihood of a fair trial under current conditions. It reads, “Rights activists and supporters fear that the government might imprison Yunus as part of the legal and political battle against him. Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman expressed concerns about imprisonment driven by ‘vengeance’ from Hasina.”

Rahman is further quoted as saying, “Given the state of the law and justice system in the country, Dr. Yunus will not receive fair treatment.”

In happier news, the June edition of the Olympic Review highlighted Professor Yunus’ significant contributions to the Paris games on pages 16, 18 and 20. Once again, we are left with the question of why a man of such vision, accomplishment, and influence would be harassed and persecuted by his own government, rather than be celebrated as the national treasure he is.

Another Strong Statement by U.S. Senators in Support of Professor Yunus, and More Nonsense from the Prime Minister

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

This past week, in advance of the latest hearing related to Professor Yunus’ bogus conviction on labor law violations and his efforts to extend his bail as the appeals process plays out, Senator Richard Durbin and three other prominent U.S. Senators released a strong statement in support of Professor Yunus. (Bail was in fact extended until August 14, as reported here.)

The statement was part of a press release that included these words, “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have noted irregularities in proceedings against Professor Yunus… The United States values its longstanding relationship with Bangladesh, however, a failure to end this seemingly personal vendetta against Muhammad Yunus will negatively impact that partnership.  We again call for the immediate end to the harassment of Professor Yunus and urge the government to respect democratic values and institutions.”

The statement was released on Twitter/X and other social media platforms. It was covered in the Bangladeshi press, including in the Daily Star, the most widely read English language daily newspaper.  This follows earlier statements by Senator Durbin, including this one in January.

Perhaps stung by this criticism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unleashed a new string of lies in a recent public event, claiming against all evidence that Professor Yunus was not the founder of the Grameen Bank and that he lobbied then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to successfully urge the World Bank to cancel its funding for building the Padma Bridge. The mountain of historical evidence that Professor Yunus did establish the Grameen Bank is too large to even start to compile. We won’t attempt to dignify the PM’s claim with a formal refutation.

In the case of the World Bank funding, the Bank itself issued a clear statement in 2012 clarifying that the funding was canceled due to corruption in Sheikh Hasina’s government and her unwillingness to address it. The statement included, “The World Bank has credible evidence corroborated by a variety of sources which points to a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials, SNC Lavalin executives, and private individuals in connection with the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project… In light of the inadequate response by the Government of Bangladesh [to address the corruption], the World Bank has decided to cancel its $1.2 billion IDA credit in support of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, effective immediately.” Perhaps the government’s Anti-Corruption Commission should study this episode and drop its meritless case against Professor Yunus.

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.

Coverage and Condemnation of the Illegal Occupation of Eight Grameen Companies Grow

Posted on by Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Some of us in the Protect Yunus Campaign hoped that in the aftermath of the Prime Minister’s reelection, however disputed and fraudulent it was, she would take the high road and scuttle the meritless cases and investigations of Professor Yunus (and ideally also of the many others she has been persecuting), or perhaps facilitate a presidential pardon. It appears that such optimism was unwarranted.

On February 12, thugs including people claiming to be retired military officers invaded the Telecom Building and have, ever since, been occupying the offices of eight leading Grameen companies that Professor Yunus established and that have been doing breakthrough work in health care for the poor, renewable energy, and other important areas. Six of those organizations have received letters from Grameen Bank asserting that their chairmen and managing directors are being removed and replaced, despite there being no legal basis for such actions. Each day this week, the invaders lock the doors when they leave and don’t allow any of the legitimate employees of the companies back into their offices until they arrive and unlock the doors. When lawyers attempted to notify local police of this illegal invasion and occupation, the police would not take any action or even note down the complaint. Later they “investigated” and, incredibly, found nothing amiss!

There were some initial press reports on the invasion and occupation. When Professor Yunus and other leaders of these companies tried to hold a press conference on Thursday, February 15, they were initially unable to do so because some women were blocking the entrance to the Telecom building. (Later, when asked, the women admitted they had no idea why they were there beyond having been asked by some local political leaders to do their bidding.) The press conference ultimately went forward. It has led to more local and international press coverage, including an AFP article carried in Barrons and The Hindu, and on the BBC World News, where reporters lauded Professor Yunus’ global leadership, discussed the invasion, and referred to the “judicial harassment” Professor Yunus has been facing. More international coverage and condemnation is expected.

The spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary General addressed this at a press conference on February 15 when he said, responding to a question about the illegal occupation of 8 Grameen companies, “I’d have to reiterate that Mr. Yunus has been very much a valued partner of the United Nations through the years.  He’s been an advocate for us both in official and unofficial capacity and supporting a number of initiatives surrounding the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, and our development work in general.  We are very concerned about the reports that we have seen coming out of Bangladesh on issues related to him.” 

The U.S. State Department also weighed in. According to one report, “The US Department of State condemned the raids on offices linked to Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus saying they could hinder foreign investment in the South Asian nation. In a statement on Tuesday, spokesman Matthew Miller expressed concern about the unusually fast-paced legal actions against Yunus, including the frequent involvement of the Anti-Corruption Commission in many cases. He warned that harassment of such a prominent figure could ‘damage Bangladesh’s reputation’ and ‘hinder foreign investment.'”

Bangladeshis at home and abroad are expressing shock and disgust about this latest development, with any remaining sympathy for the Prime Minister’s position evaporating precipitously. Fears about the safety and freedom of Grameen leaders including Professor Yunus is growing, and also about the independence of eight organizations that have been working for decades to improve living conditions in Bangladesh and address climate change using innovative means that have been admired and copied around the world.