The Labour Appellate Tribunal on Thursday extended bail to Nobel Laureate Professor聽聽 and three Grameen Telecom directors until August 14 in a labour law violation case, in which they were sentenced.
MA Awal, acting chairman of the Labour Appellate Tribunal, passed the order after Yunus, also Grameen Telecom chairperson, along with his three colleagues, appeared before the tribunal seeking extension of their temporary bail until disposal of the appeal against their conviction.
The hearing on the appeal filed by the four was not started on the scheduled day on Thursday as their lawyers sought time.
The court fixed August 14 for the hearing on the appeal.
Asked about prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 announcement that she wanted to engage in a debate with him, Yunus told journalists on the court premises that there was no matter for a dialogue with the prime minister.
鈥榃e have responded on many occasions to all the complaints made by the prime minister,鈥� he said.
Yunus, however, expressed satisfaction as there was no iron cage for the accused in the Labour Appellate Tribunal.
Some diplomats from different embassies were also present in the courtroom to observe the court proceedings on the day.聽
The other three accused in the case are Grameen Telecom officials Md. Ashraful Hassan, Md. Shahjahan, and Nurjahan Begum.
On January 1, Dhaka Labour Court聽3 sentenced the four to imprisonment for six months and fined each Tk 30,000.
The 83-year-old Yunus is facing more than 170 cases on various charges.
Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering work in 2006.
On September 9, 2021, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment filed a case against Yunus and three others for violating labour laws at Grameen Telecom.
According to case files, the department noticed several labour law violations during an inspection at the Grameen Telecom office in Dhaka.
