301 lawyers call for withdrawal of cases against Yunus

Three hundred and one lawyers of the Supreme Court in a statement have urged the government to stop "taking measures of oppression and harassment" against Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus.

They also urged the government to withdraw all the vexatious cases against him".

The 301 lawyers, including several pro-BNP counsels, signed the statement today, saying that "the current government is trying to eliminate whoever it considers to be its opponent by using the state machineries".

The lawyers, who signed the statement, include senior advocates Zainul Abedin, Subrata Chowdhury and AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon; Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Syed Mamun Mahbub, Fariduzzaman Forhad, Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Rezaul Karim Reza, M Mahbubur Rahman Khan and Jamiul Haque Faisal and AKM Ehsanur Rahman.

They said in the statement that, "Under the wrath of the current undemocratic government, many prominent people and politicians have either been sentenced or are in prison through dictating verdicts under the 'so-called judicial process' in false and harassing cases. The ongoing judicial process by the current illegitimate government against Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, is just slanted, stirred up and outrageous," the statement reads.

"We, the lawyers' society of this country, hold the opinion that the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Prof Yunus is just being targeted for the vengeance of the present government and in particular being the victim of personal outrage and enviousness of the head of the government herself".

"The ongoing judicial harassment against Prof Yunus using the state apparatus under the cover of a formal trial process is greatly damaging the image of Bangladesh across the world.

"As the lawyers, we want assurance of the safety of all citizens of the country and the fair application of the laws. We, the lawyers of the constitutional court of Bangladesh, strongly condemn this fascist behaviour of the government, and are calling for an immediate cessation of all kinds of the staged vindicatory process and withdrawal of all ongoing vexatious cases filed against the Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus," the lawyers said in the statement.