Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on Wednesday commented that it is unfortunate to question the judicial process of Bangladesh in the letter sent by of 12 US senators to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging her to end what they said the persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
"People or organizations around the world are talking about the case of Dr Yunus without knowing anything about the judicial system of Bangladesh or someone is influencing them to do these things. It is not correct to give any kind of comment or response without knowing the judicial process of any country," the chief law officer of the state came up with the comment while talking to reporters at his Supreme Court office.
The Attorney General said that it is not appropriate to send a letter in this regard to the Prime Minister because she is not a member of the judiciary. The trial proceedings against Dr Yunus have been conducted in the public court, he added.
On Monday, 12 US senators have written a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging her to end what they said the persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
They called for ending the pattern of "abusing the justice system" to target critics of the government more broadly.
For more than a decade, Professor Yunus has faced more than 150 unsubstantiated cases brought against him in Bangladesh, the senators said in the letter.
Those who signed the letter include US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and US Senator Todd Young (R-IN), along with US senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
The senators wrote that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International have noted irregularities in proceedings against Yunus, including the most recent six-month prison sentence for allegedly violating the countrys labour laws.
These reputable organisations argue that the speed and repeated use of criminal proceedings are indicative of politically motivated judicial abuses, they said.
Durbin led the effort in the US Congress to award Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal in 2013, recognising his pioneering contributions to the fight against global poverty.
