Dhaka: Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi Nobel laureate, has been convicted of violating labour laws in a case his supporters call politically motivated.
Yunus, 83, is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank, Grameen Bank.
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A Dhaka court on Monday sentenced Yunus and three of his Grameen Telecom colleagues to six months in prison. They were all immediately granted bail pending appeals.
Yunus has denied the charges and called the case “meritless, false and ill-motivated.” His lawyers say the case is an attempt to harass and humiliate him.
Yunus has earned the enmity of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of “sucking blood” from the poor.
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Hasina has made several scathing verbal attacks against Yunus, who was once seen as a political rival.
Yunus and his colleagues were accused of violating labour laws when they failed to create a workers’ welfare fund in Grameen Telecom.
Yunus is facing more than 100 other charges over labour law violations and alleged corruption.
He has denied all of the charges and says he has not profited from any of the more than 50 social business firms he has set up in Bangladesh.
Yunus’s conviction has been met with international condemnation.
The United Nations human rights office has called for the charges against him to be dropped.
Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and banker who founded Grameen Bank.
Grameen Bank provides microloans to the poor, without requiring any collateral.
Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their work in promoting economic and social development.