DURBIN, MERKLEY, KAINE, WELCH AGAIN CALL FOR THE END OF THE BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT’S HARASSMENT TOWARD NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE PROFESSOR YUNUS

Professor Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to face additional court dates in the upcoming weeks; could face up to six months in jail on bogus charges

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) released the following statement on Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus’ upcoming court dates, where he could face up to six months in prison on dubious charges.  For more than a decade, Professor Yunus has faced more than 100 unsubstantiated cases brought against him in Bangladesh.  The harassment campaign against Professor Yunus has been denounced by more than 100 Nobel Prize winners, including former President Obama. 

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have noted irregularities in proceedings against Professor Yunus, including the most recent six-month prison sentence for allegedly violating the country’s labor laws and another indictment on embezzlement.  These reputable organizations argue the speed and repeated use of various criminal proceedings are indicative of politically motivated judicial abuses.  Moreover, the repeated and sustained harassment of Professor Yunus mirrors what many Bangladeshi civil society members also face in an increasingly restrictive environment.

“The United States values its longstanding relationship with Bangladesh, however, a failure to end this seemingly personal vendetta against Muhammad Yunus will negatively impact that partnership.  We again call for the immediate end to the harassment of Professor Yunus and urge the government to respect democratic values and institutions.”

Durbin led the effort in the United States Congress to award Professor Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal in 2013, recognizing his pioneering contributions in the fight against global poverty. 

The statement follows a letter Durbin, Merkley, Kaine, and Welch sent along with U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN),  Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling for the end of Professor Yunus’ harassment.

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