Prof Yunus gets bail

Dr Muhammad Yunus coming out of a court in Mymensingh on Tuesday after it granted him bail in a defamation case. Photo: STAR Star Online Report

A Mymensingh court on Tuesday granted bail to Dr Muhammad Yunus against a Tk 5000 bond in a defamation case filed against him in 2007.
The case was filed on January 21, 2007 by Nazrul Islam Chunnu, joint secretary of Mymensingh unit Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), just four days after Yunus criticised the politicians.
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 on the following day.
Chunnu quoted Yunus to be saying in the interview, "They (politicians) are only after money. Their politics has nothing to do with ideology."
The Grameen Bank chief appeared before the Cognizance Court no-1 of Senior Judicial Magistrate Rozina Khan in Mymensingh at 11:30 in the morning.
A lawyers’ panel led by advocate AHM Khalequzzaman sought bail for Dr Yunus. Granting him the bail with two securities including a lawyer, the court also asked him to appear before the court on February 20.
The magistrate also allowed the Nobel laureate to appear through his lawyers as the defence prayed to exempt Yunus from personal appearance in the court.
Judicial Magistrate Jahangir Hossain conducted a judicial inquiry 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, made their depositions before the judicial inquiry, according to the source.
The court on December 19 summoned Dr Yunus to appear before it on January 18.