In response to the call from world leaders to suspend legal action against Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 171 notable citizens, intellectuals, and professionals in the nation released a joint statement on Friday.
The open letter submitted to the Prime Minister by some Nobel laureates, legislators, businessmen, and civil society members from multiple countries "seems to be a clear threat to Bangladesh's sovereignty and independent judiciary," reads the statement issued by Dhaka University Professor Nisar Hossain, on behalf of the 171 signatories.
"Several ethical and legal difficulties emerged as follows of the said open letter." Judges are entirely independent in their judicial roles, according to Article 94(4) of the Bangladesh Constitution," it said.
According to the constitution, no one involved in the state governance, including the prime minister, has any jurisdiction to interfere in the judicial process, reads the statement.
"The said letter's statement is contrary to the Bangladesh Constitution and the fundamental rights of workers recognized by the International Labour Organization (ILO)," it stated.
"We believe that the call made in the open letter for the trial of the charges brought against Yunus to be conducted 'by a neutral judge' has dishonored Bangladesh's judicial system," the statement stated.
The signatories of the statement include educationists, economists, lawyers, journalists, actors, writers and theatre personalities.
The signatories include educationists such as Shariff Enamul Kabir, former VC of Jahangirnagar University, Syed Anwar Husain, former history professor of Dhaka University, Kamrul Hasan Khan, former VC of BSMMU, Dr Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, president of the Bangladesh Medical Association, Prof Nazrul Islam, former chairman of the University Grants Commission, Prof Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari, former VC of Islamic University Bangladesh, Prof Dr Mohammad Fayek Uzzaman, former VC of Khulna University, Physicist Dr AA Mamun, Historian Muntasir Mamun, and Prof Atiur Rahman, emeritus professor and former governor of Bangladesh Bank.
Theatre personalities such as Hasan Imam, Ramendu Majumdar, Mamunur Rashid, Suborna Mustafa, Pijush Bandyopadhyay, Lucky Enam and Chanchal Chowdhury, Poet Nirmalendu Goon, journalist Abed Khan, sociologist and writer Prof Bulbul Osman, journalist Ajoy Dasgupta, journalist Shyamal Dutta, writer Shahriar Kabir, Engineer Nurul Huda, Kazi Saifuddin Abbas, general secretary of Projonmo '71, Momtazuddin Fakir, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, artist and freedom fighter Shahabuddin Ahmed were also among the signatories.
On August 28, over 170 global leaders, including over 100 Nobel laureates, issued an open letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saying, "We are alarmed that he [Yunus] has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment."