Yunus verdict: Is he above law, did govt punish him, asks Quader

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said Prof Muhammad Yunus was sentenced to six months' imprisonment by the court, and the Awami League government had nothing to do with the verdict.

"Noble Laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus is not above the law and that's why social status of a particular person won't be considered in the eye of law," he said, reports BSS.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Monday sentenced Yunus and three other top officials of Grameen Telecom to six months in jail in a case filed by the government over labour law violations.

"The court has sentenced Dr Muhammad Yunus, not the Awami League government. Why will the Awami League face criticism?" the AL general secretary asked.

Quader was briefing the media at the party president's Dhanmondi office.

In another programme in Chattogram, AL joint general secretary Hasan Mahmud said some people are trying to spread confusion over Dr Yunus' issue and trying to make the role of the government questionable.

"The government is not a party here and it didn't file the case. The workers of Grameen Telecom sued Dr Yunus as he didn't pay dues of the workers. And he was convicted in that case," said Hasina, also the information and broadcasting minister.

"Many Nobel laureates of the world were convicted of criminal and civil offences and many of them have served in jail for a long time," he said.