Amnesty International on Tuesday said that the conviction of Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammad Yunus is an abuse of labor laws and misuse of the justice system to settle political vendettas.
"Amnesty International believes that initiating criminal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus and his colleagues for issues that belong to the civil and administrative arena is a blatant abuse of labour laws and the justice system and a form of political retaliation for his work and dissent," read a statement published by the organisation on its X handle, formerly known as Twitter.
It stated that the conviction of Yunus is emblematic of the beleaguered state of human rights in Bangladesh, where the authorities have eroded freedoms and bulldozed critics into submission.
"The unusual speed in which the trial against Mohammad Yunus was completed stands in stark contrast to the snail-paced progress in other labour rights-related court cases in Bangladesh," it added.
"The abuse of labor laws and misuse of the justice system to settle political vendettas is a violation of international human rights law," the statement added.
MSH