I’m held in a tight spot: Dr Yunus

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus expressed deep frustration over his ongoing legal battles, saying that he is being held in a tight spot and prevented from executing his plans in his later years.

He came up with the expression while speaking to journalists after appearing at the labour appellate tribunal of Dhaka on Thursday.

He lamented the situation, saying, “I am being restricted from what I planned to do in my last age. I am being held in a tight spot, which is a loss for the countrymen.”

Dr Yunus, the chairman of Grameen Telecom, has been accused in a case involving violations of the labour law, filed by the department of inspection for factories and establishments.

On Thursday, the labour tribunal, led by its acting chairman MA Awal, extended the bail period for Dr Yunus and three other accused and fixed 4 July as the date for next hearing of the case.

The three other accused are Ashraful Hasan, former managing director of Grameen Telecom, Nur Jahan Begum, and Shahjahan, its directors.

Describing the adverse impacts of the case, Dr Yunus said, “I could have done a lot more if I did not fall into this tight spot.. into this disaster. Why is this happening? Am I losing? What do I have to lose? I have done what I was supposed to do.”

Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Khurshid Alam Khan, countered Dr Yunus’ statements, saying, “Since Dr Yunus is a convict in this case, he cannot make such statements.”

As per the case, the Grameen Telecom did not comply with various provisions of the labour act-2006 and the labour rules-2015. Besides, the company did not make jobs of its employees permanent despite completion of their probation period and grant annual leave, leave encashment and some other facilities.

On 1 January, the court sentenced Dr Yunus and the three other accused to six months in prison and imposed a fine of Tk 30,000 each. Following the verdict, they were granted interim bail on the condition of appealing to the High Court.