A Dhaka tribunal has once again extended the bail of Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three other senior officials of the company in connection with a labour law violation case. The order was passed on Thursday by MA Awal, the acting chairman of the Labour Appellate Tribunal, after Dr. Yunus and the other officials appeared before the tribunal.

This information was confirmed by Abdullah Al Mamun, Dr. Yunus' lawyer.

The tribunal also scheduled the next hearing for July 4 regarding the appeal against the Labour Court's judgment.

On January 1, a Dhaka court sentenced Dr. Yunus and three others to six months in jail for violating labour laws. The ruling was delivered by Judge Sheikh Marina Sultana of Dhaka Labour Court 3, who later granted them bail after they submitted separate petitions.

The court also imposed fines of Tk 5,000 under one section and Tk 25,000 under another. Failure to pay these fines would result in an additional 10 and 15 days of imprisonment, respectively.

The Labour Court allowed one month for them to appeal the decision to the High Court.

The other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom CEO Md Ashraful Hassan, Managing Director M Shahjahan, and Trustee Nurjahan Begum.

Dr. Yunus faces over 100 other charges related to labour law violations and alleged corruption. In a recent hearing, he asserted to reporters that he had not personally benefited from the over 50 social business enterprises he established in Bangladesh, as reported by AFP. "They were not for my personal benefit," Yunus stated.

In August, a letter signed by 160 global figures, including former US President Barack Obama and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, condemned the "continuous judicial harassment" of Yunus. The signatories, which included over 100 Nobel laureates, expressed concern for Yunus' safety and freedom.

The case against Dr. Yunus and the three other officials was filed on September 9, 2021, by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments. The department cited several labour law violations discovered during an inspection of Grameen Telecom. These violations included failing to make the jobs of 101 workers permanent, not establishing a workers' participation fund and welfare fund, and failing to distribute 5% of the company's dividends to workers.