104 Nobel laureates, 79 global figures voice concern about safety, freedom of Yunus

A total of 183 global figures including 104 Nobel Laureates in an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Monday expressed concern about the safety and freedom of Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, report agencies.
Addressed directly to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the letter is signed by Nobel Prize laureates, elected officials, business figures, and civil society leaders.
Calling the legal proceedings against Dr Mohammad Yunus "judicial harassment", the signatories called for an immediate suspension of the current judicial proceedings against him.
The signatories applaud Bangladesh's remarkable progress since its independence in 1971.
However, their collective concern arises from the "perceived threats to democracy and human rights" that have recently emerged within the country.
"We write to you as Nobel Prize laureates, elected officials, and business and civil society leaders, and as friends of Bangladesh. We admire how your nation has made laudable progress since its independence in 1971," the letter signed by, among others, Barack Obama, Jose Ramos-Horta, Mary Robinson, Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, Shirin Ebadi, Denis Mukwege, Nadia Murad, Maria Ressa, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Juan Manuel Santos, Ban Ki-moon, Laura Boldrini, Bono, and Sir Richard Branson, reads.
In the letter, the signatories called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to conduct the upcoming national election in a free, transparent and fair manner.
"However, we are deeply concerned by the threats to democracy and human rights that we have observed in Bangladesh recently. We believe that it is of the utmost importance that the upcoming national election be free and fair, and that the administration of the election be acceptable to all major parties in the country. The previous two national elections lacked legitimacy," it says.