Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday questioned the rationale behind forcing a citizen of a civilized country to stand in an iron cage during court proceedings.
He asked: "When the trial has not even started and there is no chance of being convicted yet, why should an innocent citizen have to stay in a cage?"
Judge Syed Arafat Hossain ordered to begin trial in an embezzlement case against Dr Yunus and 13 others on Wednesday. The Nobel Laureate was speaking to reporters after leaving the court.
Dr Yunus said: "There has been a lot of harassment. I was in the iron cage all day today. Is this fair? Any accused person—against whom a case has been filed—is taken to the cage... As far as I know, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. It is humiliating for an innocent citizen to have to stand in an iron cage while the court is in session.”
Addressing the journalists, he said: "It's not just about my case; it shouldn't apply to anyone. Raise your voice in the media about this issue. Let the matter be reviewed. I am raising this question to those who are legal experts and involved in the justice system—review whether this is necessary.”
On January 23, a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its directives to remove iron cages from courtrooms.
On June 7, the High Court also questioned the legality of a rule that allows the authorities concerned to install metal cages where accused persons stand during case proceedings in courtrooms across the country.
Rule 82 of the Criminal Rules and Orders (Practice and Procedure of Subordinate Courts), 2009 has laid out the provision for establishing metal cages for the accused in every court so that no prisoner can escape from there.
The High Court issued a rule asking the government to explain why the provisions of rule 82 of the Criminal Rules and Orders should not be declared contradictory to article 35(5) of the constitution as "inhuman and degrading treatment".
On Wednesday, when asked why he is calling it harassment, Dr Yunus said: "The charges against me are fraud and embezzlement. But I have never engaged in such activities. Suddenly, these allegations are being imposed on me. I don’t understand how this will be judged. This is harassment. We have served people all our lives. We did not come to embezzle money."
In response to whether harassment is related to the formation of a party, Dr Yunus said: "Many kinds of harassment are being done. It is being said that I am a bloodsucker, a usurer, an enemy of the country, that I withheld the money for the Padma Bridge, and that I am involved in conspiracies everywhere—this is all harassment. They keep saying these things. I was forcibly removed from Grameen Bank. Every year, new stories are being told."
Meanwhile, the court has framed charges against 14 people, including Dr Yunus, in a case filed over the embezzlement of around Tk25 crore from dividends for the company’s employees.
On April 2, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge As Shams Jaglul Hossain accepted the charges against the 14 accused, ordering a transfer to Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 for future proceedings.
On February 1, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Pradhan pressed charges against them in the case.
The charge sheet mentions the misappropriation of Tk25.22 crore.
On May 30, 2023, ACC filed the case with its Dhaka-1 integrated district office.
According to the case documents, a decision was made at the company's 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus on May 9, 2022, to open a bank account at the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank Limited. However, it was found that the account was opened a day before the decision was even made.
More than Tk25 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per “fake settlement agreements” and decision of the board. But before even distributing the share of the company's profit to the workers, and letting them know, the accused embezzled around Tk25 crore from the fund.
