HC scraps stay on Prof Yunus’ sentence

The High Court yesterday scrapped the Labour Appellate Tribunal’s order that stayed the sentence of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus.

However, the HC stayed their imprisonment and fine till disposal of the appeals filed by Prof Yunus and three other top officials of Grameen Telecom challenging the verdict of the Third Labour Court in Dhaka.

The HC asked the Labour Appellate Tribunal to dispose of the appeals as early as possible.

On January 1, a lower court sentenced Prof Yunus and three others to six months in prison for violation of the labour law.

Yesterday, while delivering a verdict on a criminal revision petition by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), the HC said the conviction of Prof Yunus and three others will be in force until their appeals are disposed of.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ebadot Hossain said the bail of the accused will remain in force as per order of the Labour Appellate Tribunal and they must inform the tribunal if they go abroad.

The bench also stayed the labour court’s directive that asked Yunus and others to comply with relevant rules in respect of the jobs of the workers till disposal of the appeals.

The HC delivered the verdict after holding a hearing on the rule that questioned the legality of the Labour Appellate Tribunal’s stay order on the sentences of the accused.

DIFE lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told the HC bench that the US Ambassador Peter Haas has made a contemptuous remark when he said that the cases against Prof Yunus may represent a misuse of the labour law to harass and intimidate him, which is contradictory to a Vienna Convention.

Khurshid, however, could not place any media report to support the claim and said that he read the comment online.

The HC bench then said foreign diplomats should be careful while commenting on sub-judice matters.

According to media reports, the comment Khurshid talked about was made by US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on February 12.

During the HC proceedings yesterday, Prof Yunus’ lawyer Abdullah-Al-Mamun opposed Khurshid’s move before the bench.

He told the HC that the United Nations and many Nobel laureates have made different statements about the cases and trial proceedings against Prof Yunus.

He asked whether all of them would be brought to the book of law for making statements. He added that lawyer Khurshid lacked training, and therefore, he was causing harm to the court and the government.

Following a criminal revision petition filed by DIFE, the HC bench on February 5 issued a rule asking the state to explain why the Labour Appellate Tribunal’s stay order should not be scrapped and halted the stay order until disposal of the rule.

That day, the HC said as Prof Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom, and its directors Ashraful Hassan, Nurjahan Begum, and M Shahjahan are on bail, their sentences will remain suspended.

On January 28, the Labour Appellate Tribunal granted bail to the accused following separate appeals filed by them.

On March 3, the tribunal extended the bail of the accused and set April 16 to hold another hearing on their appeals.