Last update on: Mon Sep 4, 2023 10:21 PM
Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) today protested the open letter issued by global figures calling for the suspension of judicial proceedings against Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The BEA said such an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued by internationally renowned personalities against the case filed by workers is “unexpected, undesirable, and indecent”.
In a statement, signed by BEA President Prof Abul Barkat and its General Secretary Professor Md Aynul Islam, BEA said everyone is equal as per Bangladesh’s law.
The BEA issued the statement a week after a total of 104 Nobel Laureates and 79 other global figures in an open letter to prime minister expressed concern about the safety and freedom of Prof Yunus.
The global personalities urged the PM to “immediately suspend the current judicial proceedings against Prof Yunus”, followed by a review of the charges by a panel of impartial judges drawn from within Bangladesh with some role for internationally recognised legal experts.
The development comes after a court, on August 22, started the trial of a case filed by the factories and establishments inspection department against four people, including Prof Yunus, with the Third Labour Court of Dhaka on allegation of labour law violation.
“The BEA considers the open call by a group of people using their position is a direct interference over judicial system,” said the statement.
The association said Bangladesh’s justice division works independently as per the constitution. Anyone dissatisfied with the verdict at the lower court can appeal to the higher court.
