A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel laureate Mohamed Yunus to six months in prison for labour law violations, prosecutors said, for what he said was a crime he did not commit.
Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, accused him of “sucking blood from the poor”.
His supporters say the government is attempting to discredit him because he once considered setting up a political party to rival Hasina’s Awami League.
Yunus, an economist, and three employees from Grameen Telecom, a company he founded, were convicted on Monday of failing to create a welfare fund for its employees.
“I have been punished for a crime that I haven’t committed,” Yunus told reporters after the hearing. “If you want to call it justice, you can.”
“This verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic,” he said in a statement after the verdict. “I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favour of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens.”
Responding to petitions submitted by the accused, the court granted them bail pending a possible appeal.
Yunus is facing more than 100 other charges over labour law violations and alleged corruption.
He told reporters after one of the hearings last month that he had not profited from any of the more than 50 social business firms he had set up in Bangladesh.
“They were not for my personal benefit,” Yunus said at the time.
Human rights groups have accused the government of Hasina of targeting political dissent.
Hasina is seeking a fifth term – and her fourth consecutive one – in an election on January 7 which the main opposition party has boycotted. – Reuters/AFP