125 Nobel laureates propose to review case against Dr Yunus

As many as 242 global leaders including 125 Nobel laureates in an open letter to prime minister Sheikh Hasina have made a proposal to send a team of independent legal experts to review case filed against Dr Yunus under labour law as well the current investigation being conducted by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Expressing profound concern over the continued harassment and potential jailing of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, the open letter issued on Monday termed the trial process against Nobel laureate Dr Yunus as ‘travesty of justice’.

Former UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, former US president and Nobel laureate Barak Obama, former vice president Al Gore, and former secretary of state Hilary Clinton feature among the signatories.

The signatories include 16 Nobel peace prize winners including Shirin Ebadi, Mohamed ElBaradei, Tawakkol Karman, Nadia Murad and Maria Ressa, six Nobel literature prize winners including JM Coetzee and Orhan Pamuk, 12 Nobel prize winners in Economy including Joseph Stiglitz. Moreover, the list of signatories include 36 Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 29 Noble laureates in Medicine and 26 Nobel laureates in Physics.

The letter urged the prime minister to uphold Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party, by immediately putting an end to  to this travesty of justice.

In line with the prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s invitation, the global leaders propose sending a team of independent legal experts to review case filed against Dr Yunus under labor law as well the current investigation being conducted by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The prime minister, in response to a previous letter, said the signatories should send experts, and lawyers to see if there is any injustice or whether the lawsuit was wrongfully done, added the letter.

“We would like to propose a senior international lawyer to lead a small team of independent legal experts to conduct this review. We would like to begin immediately and request that any jail sentences for Professor Yunus and his colleagues be suspended pending the review,” the letter adds.

The letter was published as a full-page ad in the Washington Post on 29 January. Their letter follows earlier ones in March 2023 and August 2023, said an article published on ‘protect Yunus’ website.

The letter said professor Yunus has received 61 honorary degrees from universities in 24 countries. Yunus Social Business Centers have been established at 107 universities in 39 countries. He has received 136 awards from 33 countries, including national honors from 10 countries.

“The world rightly celebrates Professor Yunus. In fact, it is in dire need of his continued active leadership on issues such as poverty reduction, climate change, waste reduction, social business, health care and education for the poor, and mobilising the world of sports to contribute to social and environmental advancements, among others. He is actively engaged in designing and supporting efforts in many of our countries, and having him spend any time in jail on meritless charges would represent a major loss to the global community.”

For all these reasons, leaders and citizens everywhere are watching closely to see how he is being treated by his own government. Professor Yunus and his fellow defendants should not be facing the prospect of imprisonment.

"We urge you to uphold Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bangladesh is a state party, by immediately putting an end to this travesty of justice," the letter added.