Yunus’s harassment harms Bangladesh’s image, says Supreme Court Bar Association president

He says the badgering of Yunus with persistent cases should be halted immediately

AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, the president of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, has denounced the trial of Nobel laureate and Grameen Telecom Chairman Muhammad Yunus in a case over embezzlement and money laundering.

He made the remarks to the media at the Supreme Court premises on Wednesday.

The court of Dhaka 4th Special Judge Syed Arafat Hossain took cognisance of the charges against Grameen Telecom Chairman Yunus and 13 others accused in the case of embezzlement and money laundering and ordered it to proceed to trial on Wednesday.

Yunus and the others were in the iron cage at the dock at that time.

After the court hearing, Khokon spoke to the media.

Yunus is a respected person in the world, he said.

His name is noted by museums in various countries around the globe, Khokon added.

Alleging harassment against the 83-year-old microcredit pioneer by filing one case after another, he said, “This is hurting Bangladesh’s image.”

Khokon said Yunus receiving the Nobel Prize was the cause of his harassment, describing the award as Yunus’s only ‘crime’.

He demanded an immediate end to this harassment.