The government has reiterated that no “veiled threat under the pretext of promoting democracy and human rights” would detract the people of Bangladesh from upholding the rule of law.
"The signatories to the letter would be well advised to counsel Dr Muhammad Yunus to operate within the bounds of law in lieu of making unjustified insinuations about Bangladesh’s democratic and electoral processes," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Friday.
The allegations of “persecution or harassment” seem to follow a pattern that stems from a victim mentality using human rights and democracy as an expedient cover, said the ministry.
A group of international personalities, including political leaders, and some Bangladesh nationals have written an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regarding the ongoing judicial proceedings against Dr Yunus.
The letter is marked by an “obvious gap of information and amounts to an affront to Bangladesh’s independent judicial system,” the foreign ministry said.
It comes as a surprise to the Government of Bangladesh that the signatories to the letter already reached their own conclusion about the merit of the sub-judice cases as well as the outcome of the judicial proceedings, the government said.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh filed one such case under specific provisions of the Bangladesh Penal Code and Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2012.
The case was filed based on investigations concerning allegations of misappropriation of profits due to the workers and employees of Grameen Telecom Ltd, the ministry said.
The ACC investigation team had found that Dr Muhammad Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom Ltd. along with the managing director and other board members, “forged settlement agreement to misappropriate and illicitly transfer Tk 252 million.”
Further, the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishments, Dhaka had filed a case under Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
The case was filed for multiple breaches, including for not setting up Workers’ Contributory Fund and Welfare Fund as well as for not depositing 5 per cent share of net profits to the concerned workers’ welfare funds since 2006.
"Again, in one of the tax evasion cases, Dr Yunus, having lost in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, filed a petition at the Appellate Division, the highest court of the country," the foreign ministry said.
The Appellate Division having found no infirmity and illegality in the order of the High Court Division rejected the petition, resulting in Dr Yunus’ paying the overdue tax amount to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
There are now a few more pending tax evasion cases against him.
In the cases of depriving the workers of their rightful profit, Dr Muhammad Yunus went to the highest courts on two occasions, one challenging maintainability and another challenging framing of charge by the trial court.
The highest court, on hearing his lawyers, passed judgments affirming that the first case had been properly initiated, and in the other, declared the framing of charge legal, proper and correct.
"It is regrettable that the signatories to the letter requested the Prime Minister to exercise extra-judicial authorities to suspend the sub-judice cases," the ministry said.
They have also recommended an alternative process of review of the charges against Dr. Muhammad Yunus and his cohorts in a manner that is incompatible with Bangladesh’s established judicial system.
This is not the first time that Dr Yunus and his aides have resorted to international lobbying in the face of legal consequences for their alleged or proven violation of law.
"It had been his decision to file a lawsuit against the government for terminating his contract as Managing Director of Grameen Bank way beyond the age of retirement stipulated in the Grameen Bank Service Rules, 1993," it said.
It is unacceptable for a citizen of a sovereign country to repeatedly seek external interventions presumably based on his perception of being above the law of the land, the ministry said.
"It has now become evident to the people of Bangladesh that having evaded corporate and income taxes and having deprived workers over the years, Dr Yunus — a salaried employee of Grameen Bank — invested large sums of supposedly misappropriated and laundered money in commercial ventures,” the ministry of foreign affairs said.
171 eminent citizens release statement
In response to the call from world leaders to suspend legal action against Nobel laureate Dr Yunus, a total of 171 notable citizens, intellectuals, and professionals in the nation released a joint statement on Friday.
The open letter submitted to the prime minister by some Nobel laureates, legislators, businessmen, and civil society members from multiple countries "seems to be a clear threat to Bangladesh's sovereignty and independent judiciary," reads the statement issued by Dhaka University Professor Nisar Hossain, on behalf of the 171 signatories.
"Several ethical and legal difficulties emerged as follows of the said open letter." Judges are entirely independent in their judicial roles, according to Article 94(4) of the Bangladesh Constitution," it said.
According to the constitution, no one involved in the state governance, including the prime minister, has any jurisdiction to interfere in the judicial process, reads the statement.
"The said letter's statement is contrary to the Bangladesh Constitution and the fundamental rights of workers recognized by the International Labour Organization (ILO)," it stated.
"We believe that the call made in the open letter for the trial of the charges brought against Yunus to be conducted 'by a neutral judge' has dishonored Bangladesh's judicial system," the statement stated.
The signatories of the statement include educationists, economists, lawyers, journalists, actors, writers and theatre personalities.
The signatories include educationists such as Shariff Enamul Kabir, former VC of Jahangirnagar University, Syed Anwar Husain, former history professor of Dhaka University, Kamrul Hasan Khan, former VC of BSMMU, Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, president of the Bangladesh Medical Association, Prof Nazrul Islam, former chairman of the University Grants Commission, Prof Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari, former VC of Islamic University Bangladesh, Prof Dr Mohammad Fayek Uzzaman, former VC of Khulna University, Physicist Dr AA Mamun, Historian Muntasir Mamun, and Prof Atiur Rahman, emeritus professor and former governor of Bangladesh Bank.
Theatre personalities such as Hasan Imam, Ramendu Majumdar, Mamunur Rashid, Suborna Mustafa, Pijush Bandyopadhyay, Lucky Enam and Chanchal Chowdhury, Poet Nirmalendu Goon, journalist Abed Khan, sociologist and writer Prof Bulbul Osman, journalist Ajoy Dasgupta, journalist Shyamal Dutta, writer Shahriar Kabir, Engineer Nurul Huda, Kazi Saifuddin Abbas, general secretary of Projonmo '71, Momtazuddin Fakir, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, artist and freedom fighter Shahabuddin Ahmed were also among the signatories.
On August 28, over 170 global leaders, including over 100 Nobel laureates, issued an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saying, "We are alarmed that he [Yunus] has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment."
