Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus was on Monday sentenced to six months in jail by a court on charges of violating the labour laws, a development termed as “politically motivated” by his supporters ahead of the general elections.
The 83-year-old economist won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his anti-poverty campaign, earning Bangladesh the reputation of being the home of microcredit through his Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983.
Yunus, 83, is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank but has earned the enmity of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of “sucking blood” from the poor.
Free Malaysia Today in a report credited to AFP said Hasina had made several scathing verbal attacks against the internationally respected 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was once seen as a political rival.
Yunus and three colleagues from Grameen Telecom, one of the firms he founded, were accused of violating labour laws when they failed to create a workers’ welfare fund in the company.
