Monica Yunus was in London with me Jan 24 – 26 and did a great job at interviews speaking about her father at the BBC (aired Jan 25th), Channel 4 (aired Jan 28th) and CNN (aired Jan 29th - links below). We also met with media and legal advisers - all pro-bono – and they stressed the importance of keeping attention focused on Prof Yunus and his colleagues. Everyone is pulling together to create momentum to sustain international media attention - there is still much to do in the coming months.
Our group ran an ad in support of Prof Yunus in the Washington Post on Monday (Jan 29th – see attached) with signatures from 125 Nobel Laureates including President Obama, and 115 other prominent international leaders. This was a follow up to a letter published in the NYT on Aug 31st, with almost all of the same signatories, plus another 80 prominent signers.
Prof Yunus was in court in Dhaka on January 28th, and his bail was extended until the end of the appeal process (no idea when that will be). However, on Monday, Jan 29th, the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) issued 100 charges against not only Prof Yunus but also the whole board of Grameen Telecom (12). He and the others can be arrested at any time, so that’s discouraging news: https://www.jagonews24.com/en/national/news/72821. We had been anticipating this series of more meritless charges from the ACC, but not until March 3rd, so it appears the government is on the defensive by expediting these.
I will be in Dhaka Feb 24 – March 6 and will be spending time with Prof Yunus, and with his Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing.
While we are making progress, it is a tall order to wage this battle, but we are doing our best. Let’s hope all of these efforts encourage the PM to change her course of action.
Media coverage Jan 22nd – Jan 29th, 2024:
Jan 29th – Interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN.com:
Jan 28th Channel 4 news story on Prof Yunus leaving court in Dhaka:
Nobel Peace Prize winner on bail in Bangladesh
Interview with Matt Frei - Bangladeshi Nobel prize winner’s daughter says her father is innocent and being persecuted:
Jan 22nd: Letter to PM Sheikh Hasina from 12 US Senators in support of Prof Yunus:
For more info on the campaign to protect Yunus: https://protectyunus.wordpress.com/