State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday termed an open letter by 175 eminent personalities asking to halt judicial proceedings against Dr Muhammad Yunus “frustrating”.
"Calling for halt court processes is unheard of," he said, adding that those who made the call were doing “injustice to their reputation”.
“They can observe the court process. We will surely welcome that,” he said. “We can assure them that our judiciary is independent and the government has no influence over it.”
Expressing their concern, 175 eminent personalities, including 104 Nobel laureates, penned an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, requesting a halt to judicial proceedings against Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The letter, published on a blog dedicated to protecting Nobel laureate Yunus, also expressed concerns about his safety.
The state minister said: “A person who is engaged in businesses, employs hundreds of thousands and has properties can face legal issues. However, it does not mean that he is guilty or that the allegations cannot be investigated. Are there any people in the world allegations against whom cannot be investigated?”
"No matter what, Bangladesh's courts are independent. We are not worried. We are not feeling any pressure (over the letter),” he said.
When asked whether the government has any issues with Dr Yunus, he said: "In the last 15 or 16 years, we have had no problems with him."
“You all know the issues of 1/11,” he said, referring to the military-backed caretaker government of 2007 and 2008, when Dr Yunus proposed excluding both Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia from politics, a move widely known as the “minus-two formula.”
“But you have seen the two-page advertisement that cost at least a million dollars, with most of the signatories being retired individuals. It raises doubts,” he said, referring to a letter published in the form of an “advertisement” in the Washington Post on March 7 in favour of Dr Yunus.
Replying to a question of whether the government would use diplomatic missions to explain the issue, he said: "Since it is a court issue, we have nothing to say."
“But we will try to convey that the judicial system is independent. No reason to worry,” he said, adding that “but they must have the guts to accept the verdict”.
