Dr Yunus, 3 others must inform court before travelling abroad

The High Court has ruled that Nobel Laureate economist Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others of Grameen Telecom, who were sentenced to six months in prison for violating labour law, must inform the court before travelling abroad.

The other three individuals are Grameen Telecom’s former managing director Md Ashraful Hasan, and directors Nur Jahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

A High Court bench of justice Md Nazrul Islam and justice Kazi Ebadoth Hossain passed the order on Monday.

The court also ruled questioning the legality of the Labour Appellate Tribunal's order that stayed the conviction and sentence of Dr Yunus and the three officials asking as to why an order should not be issued to cancel the tribunal order.

Dr Yunus and three others, as well as Dhaka's deputy commissioner on behalf of the state, were made respondents to the rule. The High Court also stayed the tribunal's order until the rule is disposed of.

The bench issued the rule and order following a criminal revision petition filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) challenging the Labour Appellate Tribunal's order.

Earlier on 1 January, a court in Dhaka sentenced Dr Yunus and three others to six months in prison and fined Tk 30,000 each in a case filed on charges of violating the labour law.

The maximum punishment in this case is six months imprisonment and a fine of Tk 30,000.

The court also granted them immediate bail, on condition of appealing against the verdict within a month.

Dhaka’s third labour court’s judge Begum Sheikh Merina Sultana pronounced the verdict around 3:00 pm.

On 28 January, the Labour Appellate Tribunal accepted the appeal petitions of Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus and three other Grameen Telecom officials against the verdict of a case filed by the DIFE.

The tribunal also stayed the labour court’s sentence until 3 March and granted bail to them.

Senior lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan represented the petitioner in the hearing while lawyers Abdullah-Al-Mamun and Khaza Tanvir Ahmed represented Dr Yunus and three others. Deputy Attorney General Saifuddin Khaled stood for the state.

Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said the conviction and sentence of Dr. Yunus were not in effect due to the tribunal’s stay order on the entire verdict. The High Court stayed a section of the tribunal’s order, upholding their conviction and sentence. As they are on bail, their sentence remains suspended now, the lawyer added.