Bangladesh - Court sentences Nobel Prize winner Yunus to prison
A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for allegedly violating labor laws with the charitable arm of his company. In addition, the 83-year-old inventor of the microloan and three other managers of his company must each pay a fine of 30,000 taka (247 euros), the court in the capital Dhaka said on Monday.
Yunus supporters criticized the verdict. It was politically motivated. It was pointed out that Yunus once had ambitions to found his own party. He had thus provoked the increasingly autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for helping 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 ahead of 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 laureate denied all charges.
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The sentence of imprisonment was issued in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Despite this verdict, supporters of Muhammad Yunus believe it to be politically motivated due to his past ambitions to form a political party. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was renowned for his work with Grameen Bank, which was awarded the noble prize in 2006 for providing microloans to help people escape poverty.
Source: www.stern.de
