Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was found guilty of violating labor laws in Bangladesh.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was found guilty of violating labor laws in Bangladesh. Its supporters have described the law as politically motivated. "Professor Yunus and his three Grameen Telecom colleagues were found guilty under labor laws and sentenced to six months in prison," Justice Minister Khurshid Alam Khan told AFP on Monday.

He said all four were immediately released on bail pending their appeal. Yunus, 83, is credited with lifting millions of people out of poverty through his first microfinance bank but faced hostility from former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who accused him of "sucking the blood" of the poor.

Hasina continued to attack the internationally renowned 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, once seen as a political rival. Yunus and three colleagues at Grameen Telecom, one of the companies he founded, were accused of violating labor laws by failing to establish a welfare fund for its employees.

All four people deny the allegations. "This sentence is unprecedented," Yunus' lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamoun, told AFP. "I didn't get justice."

Yunus was indicted on more than 100 charges of labor law violations and corruption. He told reporters after a hearing last month that he had not benefited from more than 50 social enterprises he founded in Bangladesh.

"It's not for my benefit," Yunus said. Another of his lawyers, Khaja Tanveer, told AFP the case was "baseless, bogus and without evidence".

He said: "The sole purpose of this incident is to humiliate and humiliate him in front of the world." "Resist Justice"

Irene Khan, now a UN special rapporteur and former head of Amnesty International who attended Monday's sentencing, told AFP the decision was "an injustice".

"A public figure and Nobel laureate who brought honor and pride to the country was prosecuted for frivolous reasons," he said. Last August, 160 global figures, including former US President Barack Obama and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, issued a joint letter condemning the "continued pursuit of Yunus".

The signatories, including more than 100 of his Nobel laureates, said they feared for his "safety and freedom". Critics accuse the Bangladeshi courts of undermining the resolve of Hasina's government, which looks set to return to power next week in elections boycotted by the opposition.

His government has become increasingly harsh in its crackdown on political dissidents, and Yunus' popularity among the Bangladeshi public has seen him as a potential challenger for years. Amnesty International accused the government of "weaponizing labor laws" when Yunus appeared in court in September and demanded an immediate end to the "persecution" of Yunus.

The report said Yunus' indictment was "a form of political retaliation for his achievements and dissent."