Nobel Prize winner Yunus sentenced to jail in Bangladesh

A court in Bangladesh on Sunday sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in jail for labor law violations.

The 83-year-old Yunus won his Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for creating a so-called microlender, a bank specializing in small loans. His organization, Grameen Bank, provided loans of under $100 (€90) to the country's rural poor, who are often rejected by traditional banks.

At the center of the legal case, however, is Grameen Telecom, which Yunus founded as a non-profit organization.

What did the court rule?

The court in the capital Dhaka found Yunus and three others guilty of failing to confirm employees in their jobs after probation periods at Grameen Telecom.

The court said that 67 of Grameen Telecom employees were supposed to be made permanent but weren't.

The defendants also failed to file regular information about workers to authorities, the court found.

According to the verdict, the defendants also held back dividends that were due to be paid to employees annually.

Yunus is the chairman of the microlender. The other defendants are Managing Director Ashraful Hasan and directors Nurjahan Begum and Mohammad Shahjaha.

All four were given hefty fines in addition to a six-month jail sentence.

The court also gave the defense 30 days to appeal and the defendants were bailed.

'Flawed' judgment to be challenged

Yunus denied any wrongdoing, while the defense lawyer, Abdullah al-Mamun ,called the judgment flawed.

"Justice was not delivered to us, and we'll file an appeal against the verdict in the higher court," he said, adding that it was an unprecedented verdict never handed down to a Bangladeshi non-profit in the past.   

Khaja Tanvir, another of Yunus' lawyers, said the case is politically motivated and targeted at harassing the Nobel Laureate.

The businessman has been involved in a long-running row with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The prime minister has accused Yunus of using "tricks" to avoid taxes and "sucking the blood out of the poor" with his loans.

Yunus' supporters believe the charges were filed to harass him ahead of elections on January 7 where Hasina seeks a fourth term.

Last August, more than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates in an open letter urged Hasina to suspend all legal proceedings against Yunus.

Yunis faced slew of charges

The Nobel laureate has faced several other charges involving alleged corruption and fund embezzlement.

In 2010, a TV documentary alleged that Yunus transferred $100 million, given to the bank by the Norwegian government to a sister company without permission.

Some years prior, in 2007, Yunus publicly mulled plans of launching a political party, before dropping the idea. Some believe this move sparked the anger of the current prime minister, who was detained on extortion charges at the time. Hasina was released and subsequently won the 2008 election, with her administration then begining a series of investigations into Yunus.

He lost a legal battle with Hasina's government when he was removed from the post of managing director in 2011, in a row over his retirement age.

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

mm/dj (AP, dpa, Reuters)

Editor's note: This article was corrected to note the difference between Yunus' Grameen Telecom and Grameen Bank.