Depositions begin in labour law case against Nobel Laureate Yunus

The state began presenting its arguments in a case over the violation of labour laws

FE Team | Published: November 17, 2023 00:07:17

A court is hearing depositions in the case against Grameen Telecom Chairman Muhammad Yunus over the violation of labour laws, reports bdnews24.com
The hearing began in Dhaka's Labour Court-3 at 12:20 pm on Thursday. The Nobel laureate arrived at the court half an hour prior to the start of the hearing.
His lawyer Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun said that lawyers Syed Haider Ali and Khurshid Alam Khan are presenting arguments on behalf of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.
On Nov 9, Yunus and Grameen Telecom Managing Director Md Ashraful Hasan and Directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan gave statements in their defence to the court.
In response to questions from the media, Yunus labelled himself innocent and said, "I am not the sole owner of this company. My ideals did not fall short. When working on such a large scale, there may be some mistakes. We are not angels. However, none of the mistakes were intentional."
That day Yunus said in a written statement that he was not earning personal profits from his many social enterprises in the country and gave an explanation of why he and the other suspects in the case should be acquitted.
Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments filed a case against Grameen Communications, naming Yunus and three others, on Sept 9, 2021.
All four accused have given their statements to the court and been cross-examined. On Oct 11, the case plaintiff and first witness gave their statements. In due process, the fourth witness gave their statement on Nov 6, said Yunus's lawyer Mamun.
The charges in the case against Yunus include failure to provide employees with appointment letters, to get work schedules approved by the authorities and to submit annual and half-yearly returns.