Microfinance: Obama, Hillary, and over 160 others urge Dhaka to acquit Nobel Laureate M. Yunus

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Former US President Barack Obama, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and over 160 other global leaders have urged Bangladesh to suspend ongoing legal action against Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and the Father of Microfinance.

Concerned over a string of court cases against Professor Muhammad Yunus, 83, these global leaders, in a joint letter, urged Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed to suspend all legal actions against the pioneer of microfinancing, the media reported on Friday.

Prof. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his anti-poverty campaign, earning Bangladesh the repute of being the home of microcredit through his Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983.

The key signatories included Obama, Hillary, and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, besides over 100 Nobel Laureates.

“One of the threats to human rights that concern us in the present context is the case of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus. We are alarmed that he has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment,” the letter said.

“We are confident that any thorough review of the anti-corruption and labor law cases against him will result in his acquittal,” it added.

Clinton reinforced her support for Yunus, urging the international community to wage a campaign for an “end to his persecution” as the eminent economist faces several court cases on charges of violating financial and labor laws.

In her post on the social media platforms on Tuesday, Clinton wrote, “Stand with me and more than 160 other global leaders to support great humanitarian and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus in his moment of need.”

“Join the movement to demand an end to his persecution,” wrote Clinton, wife of former US president Bill Clinton.

In a quick response on Monday, PM Hasina suggested that international dignitaries send experts to review allegations against Prof. Yunus.

Asserting that she believed the experts’ review would reveal more allegations against him, she added that Bangladesh’s judiciary was independent.

Accusing Yunus of “begging” for the dignitaries’ statement, Hasina said, “If the gentleman (Dr. Yunus) had so much self-confidence that he had committed no crime, he would not be begging for a statement at that international level.”

The economist has been on a protracted row with the incumbent government because of obscure reasons. The Hasina-led administration began a series of investigations against him after coming to power in 2008, the media reported.

Many believe that Hasina became enraged when Prof. Yunus announced he would form a political party in 2007 when the country was run by a military-backed government, and she was in prison.

However, Yunus did not follow through on the plan, but criticized politicians in the country, alleging they were only interested in making money.

Hasina’s government began a review of the Grameen Bank’s activities in 2011 and fired Yunus as its founding managing director on charges of violating government retirement regulations.

He was put on trial in 2013 on charges of receiving money without government permission, including his Nobel Prize award and royalties from a book.

Hasina called Yunus a “bloodsucker” and accused him of using force and other means to recover loans from poor rural women as head of Grameen Bank.

After his court appearance, he was granted bail.

When his prolonged efforts to settle disputes with the government failed, Yunus blasted the government for paving the way for the “destruction” of the pioneering micro-lending bank he founded.

Earlier this month, 18 former Grameen Telecom workers filed a case against Yunus, accusing him of siphoning off their job benefits. Yunus’ counsels called the case harassment and vowed to fight the allegations.

In another case, Yunus went on trial in August 2022 on charges of violating labor laws. He and 13 others were also named in a case brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission accusing them of embezzling funds from Grameen Telecom.

In September 2019, a Dhaka court issued a warrant to arrest Yunus as he failed to appear in person in a case relating to the firing of three employees of the IT company that he heads as the chairman.