US ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas.
Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan on Thursday sought legal action against the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas, saying that his statement regarding the case of Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus amounted to contempt of court.
‘A foreign ambassador cannot make such comments sitting in our country without knowing and understanding the labour laws of Bangladesh,’ he said while talking to journalists at the Supreme Court premises.
Khurshid Alam, who was a state lawyer in the labour law violation case in which Yunus, along with three others, were sentenced to six months imprisonment, also said that action should be taken against the US ambassador according to the Vienna Convention.
Haas invited Yunus to dinner on Monday night at his residence and held a three-hour-long meeting with him.
The US Embassy later issued a statement in which Haas said that the US was closely monitoring the progress of ongoing cases against Yunus and his colleagues.
The ambassador expressed concern that these cases could be an example of misuse of Bangladesh’s labour law.
Khurshid also said that if the ambassador had read the Bangladesh labour law, he could not make such a comment.
The lawyer argued that the words ‘misuse of labour law’ can only be said by the court.
He also urged the government to take a decision about the ambassador or inform the US State Department that the diplomat was violating the code of conduct and was interfering with the independent judiciary of Bangladesh.
‘Haas not only insulted Bangladesh, he also insulted the International Labour Organization with his comment as Bangladesh’s labour law was approved by the ILO,’ he said.
‘I think the government should inform the matter to the US State Department or take action against him according to the Vienna Convention,’ he added.
He also suggested Haas make comments carefully in the future.
Yunus, who has been facing more than 170 cases, was sentenced to six months in jail by the Third Dhaka Labour Court on January 1 along with three others in a case filed by DIFE for violating labour law at Grameen Telecom.
Yunus and the other convicts filed an appeal with the Labour Appellate Tribunal, challenging the verdict on January 28.
They are currently out on bail in the case.
The 83-year-old professor, known internationally as the ‘banker to the poor’, is credited with establishing a pioneering system of micro-finance loans that lifted millions out of poverty.
Yunus shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen Bank, which he founded.
New Age
