More than 170 global leaders call for suspension of legal action against Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Yunus
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, more than 170 global leaders, including former US president Barack Obama, have urged Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to suspend all legal actions against the pioneer of microfinancing. Yunus, 83, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his anti-poverty campaign, earning Bangladesh the repute of being the home of microcredit through his Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983.
More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Hasina, urging her to suspend legal proceedings against Yunus.
The signatories included Obama, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and more than 100 Nobel laureates.
«One of the threats to human rights that concern us in the present context is the case of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof.
Muhammad Yunus. We are alarmed that he has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment,» the letter said.
«We are confident that any thorough review of the anti-corruption and labour law cases against him will result in his acquittal,» it added.
Clinton reinforced her support for Yunus, urging the international community to wage a campaign for an «end to his persecution» as the economist faces several court cases on charges of violating financial and labour laws.
In her post on the social media platforms Facebook and X on Tuesday, Clinton wrote, «Stand with me and more than 160 other global leaders to support great humanitarian and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in his moment of need.»
«Join the movement to demand an end to his persecution,» wrote Clinton, wife of former US president Bill Clinton.
In a quick response on Monday, Hasina suggested that
