Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded of the Nobel Peace Prize, was sentenced to six months in prison by a Bangladeshi court on Monday for violating labour laws, according to the prosecution. Yunus claimed that he had not committed any crime.
By providing small loans of less than $100 to Bangladesh’s rural poor, 83 years old Yunus, and his Grameen Bank were able to raise millions out of poverty and launch the global movement known as microcredit. Yunus and his bank were awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
But Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister, charged that he was “sucking blood from the poor”. His supporters claim that because he had thought of forming a political party to challenge Hasina’s Awami League, the government is trying to paint him in a negative light.
The economist Yunus, along with three workers from his business Grameen Telecom, was found guilty on Monday of neglecting to establish a welfare fund for his staff members.
Yunus is being prosecuted on over a hundred more counts related to suspected corruption and labour law offences.
Human rights organisations claim that the Sheikh Hasina government is targeting political dissent.
Hasina is running for a fifth term, her fourth in a row, in an election scheduled for January 7 that the major opposition party decided to boycott.
Pakistani citizen gets life sentence in Bangladesh drugs case
