Is jailing for Nobel laureate Dr. Yunus palpable in Bangladesh?
A similar concern is highlighted in the title of a press release appeared in the global public relations newswire website of CISION on Monday, August 28, provided by the Civic Courage, a Washington, DC based organization, founded by Sam Daley-Harris, an author of Reclaiming Our Democracy.
The news release title said, “Global Leaders and Civic Courage Alarmed by Possible Jailing of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Call for Justice.” Also, in the leading with referring to an earlier letter sent in March, it elaborated that, “Out of a growing concern over a likely imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, more than 160 global leaders including more than 100 Nobel Laureates wrote an open letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stating “…we are alarmed that [Prof. Yunus] has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment….” adding that they are “…concerned about his safety and freedom.”
The leaders responded to a mid-August review from an International law firm stating: “Professor Yunus is facing six months in prison for a crime that he not only did not commit, but that legally does not exist….Events are moving quickly in Bangladesh driven by a forthcoming election and a presumed desire to imprison Prof. Yunus prior to that election….Not only are the allegations entirely without merit, but the legal process is wrong in law….A miscarriage of justice is happening in Bangladesh and the state must not be allowed to carry it to its conclusion.”
Signatories of the letter supporting Prof. Yunus include Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, Jose Ramos-Horta, the president of East Timor, and Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland. About this situation, President Obama recently wrote, “During this period, I hope it gives you strength to know that many whose potential you invested in, and those who care about a more equitable economic future for all, are thinking of you, and I hope that you continue to have the freedom to do your important work.”
