BAnglo-Indian politician Muhammad Yunus has been acquitted in a corruption case brought against him by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission. Only a few days earlier, he was sworn in to lead a caretaker government following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina.
A special court in Dhaka acquitted the Nobel Prize winner in economics and 13 other people. The Daily Star reported on Sunday, citing an official from the Anti-Corruption Commission. If found guilty of money laundering in this case, Yunus could face a life sentence.
A day before he was sworn in as chief adviser to the interim government with the powers of the prime minister, Yunus was acquitted in a labor law violation case in which he had been sentenced to six months in prison. Human rights lawyers have described both cases as politically motivated.
Read more: From “banker of the poor” to “bloodsucker”: The sad story of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus
Abdullah Al-Mamun, a lawyer for Yunus, did not respond to calls from Bloomberg News.
It is a swift turnaround for 84-year-old Yunus. His supporters say former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is behind the legal pressure. He has often been portrayed as a nemesis of Hasina, who once accused Yunus of “sucking the blood of the poor.” Yunus described her ouster as the country’s “second liberation.”
After Hasina, 76, left the country last week following a student-led uprising, protesters’ attention turned to her acolytes in the judiciary and the central bank. Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned while protesters demanded the resignation of all judges, while Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder resigned.
Yunus’s interim government must shore up the economy, which is heavily dependent on a huge textile export sector and a $4.7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout. Foreign exchange reserves must be stabilized, having fallen to $20.5 billion last month from a peak of $48 billion about three years ago.
Read more: What you should know about Muhammad Yunus and Bangladesh’s uncertain future
Yunus is a microfinance pioneer and has no experience as a political administrator, making the question of how he will approach the reconstruction of a country with over 170 million inhabitants even more uncertain. In his first days in office, he urged calm and warned against attacks on minority groups in the predominantly Muslim country.
Yunus and the advisory council discussed the attacks on religious minorities over the weekend and want to work with representatives of these groups to “find ways to resolve these heinous attacks.” The talks come as Hindu minority groups held rallies across the country for the third consecutive day on Sunday to demand protection and justice.
Since Hasina’s overthrow, members of minorities in 52 districts have been subjected to at least 205 attacks, according to data from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.
Police ended their strike on Sunday after Interior Minister Sakhawat Hussain gave them a difficult choice: they must either return to work by Thursday or lose their jobs.
Human Rights Watch said the situation of minorities, particularly Hindus, was extremely dangerous and it was critical that public order be restored as soon as possible.
“In many places, there is no police presence to ensure their safety after police officers were subjected to reprisals for years of abuses under the Hasina government, including during recent student protests,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
