Defamation Case
Prof Yunus gets bail in Mymensingh
A Mymensingh court yesterday granted Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus bail against a Tk-5,000 bond in connection with a defamation case filed against him.
Nazrul Islam Chunnu, joint secretary of Mymensingh unit Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), filed the case on January 21, 2007 Yunus criticised politicians.
Chunnu quoted Yunus as saying in an interview, “They [politicians] are only after money. Their politics has nothing to do with ideology.”
The lawsuit referred to an interview with international news agency AFP at the head office of Grameen Bank on January 17, 2007. The plaintiff in the case said the interview was published in different newspapers the following day.
Yesterday, the microcredit guru appeared before the cognisance court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Rozina Khan in Mymensingh at 11:30am.
A legal defence team led by advocate AHM Khalequzzaman sought bail for Yunus.
Granting him bail, the court asked him to appear before it on February 20. However, the magistrate excused Yunus from appearing before the court in the flesh after his lawyers appeal to the court.
Talking to newsmen, Prof Yunus said he was happy on getting bail.
Judicial Magistrate Jahangir Hossain had conducted a judicial enquiry into the case and submitted its report to the court in December last year.
District unit president of Ganatantri Party Prof Atiqur Rahman, JSD secretary advocate Sadik Hossain, secretary of Workers Party of Bangladesh Sujit Barmon and advocate Abdul Motalab Lal, among others, gave their statements to the enquiry body, according to a source.
The court on December 19 summoned Yunus to appear before it on January 18.
