Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus sentenced to 6 month imprisonment in Bangladesh on charges of Labor Law violation

In Bangladesh, a Dhaka court has sentenced Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and three top officials of Grameen Telecom to six months’ jail in a case over violation of labor law.

The court also fined Tk 30,000 each and ordered that, in case of default, the convicts would have to suffer 25 more days’ simple imprisonment. The court, however, responding to petitions submitted by the convicts, granted bail to Dr Yunus and other three convicts for one month.

On June 6, 2023, Dhaka Labor Court-3 framed charges against the four accused. The others accused in the case are: Ashraful



Hasan, CEO of Grameen Telecom Trust; trustee Nurjahan Begum; and managing director M Shahjahan.

According to the case, during an inspection visit to Grameen Telecom, inspectors of the department found that 101 workers and staff members who were supposed to be permanent were not made so. No participation fund and welfare fund was formed for them and five percent of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers following the law. Upon a complaint, a criminal case was filed under sections 4, 7, 8, 117, 234 of the Labor Act of Bangladesh.