Yunus being tried like any other person

Law Minister Anisul Huq today said Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus is being tried the same way as any citizen of the country who breaches the law.

"But what he [Yunus] is saying is untrue and insulting to the people of Bangladesh," he said while talking to journalists after a meeting with a European Union delegation at the conference room of the law ministry.

Various countries consider tax evasion cases as important and that's why Dr Yunus has been sued, he said.

"The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed a case against Prof Yunus. I told them [EU delegation] about that case, which is pending before a court..."

"I informed them that there was another tax evasion case against him. He [Yunus] paid tax after losing another tax evasion case," he said.

The minister also said discussions on the Labour Law, Artificial Intelligence Law, Data Protection Law and Cyber Security Law took place at the meeting with the delegation.

"They wanted to know when the Labour Law would be passed. I told them that we want an end to the complaint filed against us with the International Labour Court. We have done enough work on the law. We are also working on amending it. We asked them to support us at their governing body meeting next November," he said.

The law minister also said many questions have come from their countries about Yunus' trial process.

"I told them that he [Yunus] violated the rights of the workers. There was a case against him to this effect and he has been sentenced. Besides, 108 workers sued him personally. Some of them withdrew their cases after he assured them of compensation," he said.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told reporters at a briefing on the SC premises today that Yunus is being harassed with cases one after another, and this harassment should stop immediately.

"Many say that Prof Yunus has won the Nobel Prize... as if it were his offence to win it. He did not award it to himself. The committee concerned gave him the prize," he added.

"Dr Yunus was put in an iron cage in a Dhaka court, which was very insulting to him. Where does this end?" he said.

"We don't know how to honour a respected person. There is no democracy, human rights, or rule of law in the country. People cannot exercise their right to vote. The country is not being governed in accordance with the constitution," the SCBA president said.