Gulam Rabbani :
Nobel laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, also the Chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three other top officials of the organization were sentenced to six months imprisonment in a case filed against them on charge of violating the labour law.
Each of them have also been imposed a fine of Tk 30,000.
Prof Yunus, also an Advisor to the UN Secretary General, and his colleagues have been imposed the highest punishment determined by the Labour Act of Bangladesh.
Judge of the Third Labour Court in Dhaka, Sheikh Merina Sultana, delivered the verdict after concluding the trial proceedings of the case, filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
The other accused in the case are- Grameen Telecom Managing Director Ashraful Hassan, Directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.
In the 84-page judgement, the court said the accused have violated Sections 4, 8, 117 and 234 of the Labour Act, 2006 and the prosecution has been able to prove the charges against the accused beyond any doubt.
Under section 303(3) of the act, it sentenced all the four accused to 6 months imprisonment and fined Tk 5000, in default of which the accused have to serve 10 more days in jail. Under Section 307 of the act it fined Tk 25000 to each of the accused, in default they have to serve 15 days more in jail.
The court also directed the authorities of the Grameen Telecom to comply all rights of the employees of the organization under the Labuor Act within the next one month.
In a reaction after the verdict Prof Yunus said, “I have been sentenced for a crime that I did not commit.”
Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun who appeared in the court proceedings on behalf of the Prof Yunus and others said, “We did not get justice. This judgment is flawed. We will appeal against this judgment with the High Court.”
Barrister Khaja Tanvir Ahmed, another counsel for Prof Yunus and other accused, said, “Six months’ imprisonment and fining Tk 25000 is the highest punishment under the Labour Act, and the court has given the highest punishment to Prof Yunus.”
Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan who represented the DIFE, the plaintiff organization, said, “We have been able to prove the charges against the accused beyond any doubt. The court was satisfied and sentenced the accused.
We are happy with the judgement. This judgment proves that no one is above the law.”
After the verdict, Prof Yunus and the three other officials filed a bail petition, and the same judge granted them bail for one month on condition of filing appeal against the verdict.
In a reaction, former Secretary General of Amnesty International Irene Khan said, “If injustice is done in the name of justice, it is dreadful. A ridiculous incident has been done in the name of justice.
How much injustices are taking place in the country? Garment workers, trade union leaders are being shot dead, however, no trial of those incidents is held.
It’s not justice, it’s persecution. There is no one in the international community who is saying that it is being done right. Everyone says it’s unfair. Now injustice is being made as justice by force.”
The security of the Labour Court in Bijoy Nagar in the capital and its adjacent areas was tightened centering the announcement of the judgement. Huge law enforcers were deployed there.
Prof Yunus and other accused of the case entered the courtroom of the 3rd Labour Court at 1.42 pm. The judge started to announce the verdict at 2.15 pm.
Civil society members Irene Khan, Shahidul Alam, Prof Rahnuma Ahmed, Barrister Sara Hossian, Pof Asif Nazrul Islam, and some foreign observers were present at the courtroom during the deliberation of the judgment.
Inspector of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, Arifuzzaman, filed the case with Dhaka 3rd Labour Court on 9 September in 2021 against four people including Prof Yunus.
According to the case documents, a team of DIFE went on an inspection to Grameen Telecom and found the violations of labour laws like not regularizing 101 staff, not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, among others.
