The case against Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus has the US expressing its desire for an equitable and open justice system.
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, "For our part, we have encouraged the Bangladeshi government to ensure a fair and transparent legal process," on January 3 at a routine press conference in Washington.
According to a spokesman for the US State Department, Yunus has significantly reduced global poverty, as evidenced by his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and several other international awards.
He said they have been following the case against him closely.

"We’ve seen, of course, the widespread international criticism of the verdict," Miller stated.

He declared that they will keep a careful eye on any new developments.

In a case involving labour law infractions, the pioneer of microfinance and three senior officials of Grameen Telecom were sentenced to six months in prison by Labour Court No. 3 of Dhaka on Monday.


"As my lawyers have convincingly argued in court, this verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic," Yunus stated in a statement released by the Yunus Centre.

He pledged to serve the countrymen and the social business movement to the best of his ability.


“I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favor of democracy and human rights for every one of our citizens,” said the 83-year-old.

Yunus, along with three Grameen Telecom officials, managed to avoid prison, as they were granted bail.

Responding to a question on January 7 polls, US Spokesperson Miller again said they support a free and fair election in Bangladesh.

"We have made that quite clear several times. We will watch the elections very closely," he said.

But of course, the US State Department spokesperson added, he would never speculate in advance about what actions they may or may not take in response to any development.
Yunus and three other Grameen Telecom officials were given bail, which allowed them to avoid going to jail.

US Spokesperson Miller reiterated their support for a free and fair election in Bangladesh in response to a question about the polls on January 7.

"We have stated that multiple times. We'll be closely following the elections," he declared.

Naturally, the representative for the US State Department continued, he would never predict ahead of time what steps they might or might not take in response to any development.