Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has been quoted in a news report in Aljazeera English. The report is about ongoing “harassment” of Bangladesh’s only Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. He is facing a slew of cases including alleged corruption and violation of labor laws. Late last month, more than 170 global figures, including nearly 100 Nobel laureates, wrote an open letter, urging Hasina’s government to stop the “continuous judicial harassment” of Yunus.
Riaz told Al Jazeera the “humiliation and vilification” of Yunus by the Awami League government is not new. “It has been going on since 2011 but now it has taken a leap to make an example out of him. It is to send a message that if a person of his stature can be persecuted, others should be afraid of their fates,” he said.
Riaz said Yunus is disliked by the governing party because of a “misperception which led to unfounded allegations” that he was behind the cancellation of a World Bank loan for the construction of Bangladesh’s largest bridge.
