A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for allegedly violating labor law with the charitable arm of his company. In addition, the 83-year-old inventor of microcredit and three other managers in his company would each have to pay a fine of 30,000 taka (247 euros), the court in the capital Dhaka said.
Yunu’s supporters criticized the verdict. It is politically motivated. It was pointed out that Yunus once had ambitions to found his own party. In doing so, he provoked the increasingly autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 because he helped many people escape poverty with small loans. Prime Minister Hasina, on the other hand, accuses him of avoiding taxes and “sucking the blood of the poor” with his loans. Human rights organizations accuse the 76-year-old head of government of deliberately eliminating her political opposition – especially before the upcoming election at the end of the week.
The court allowed Yunus and the other three convicts to remain free on bail until they appeal to a higher court. The Nobel Prize winner denied all allegations.