The Labour Appellate Tribunal on Sunday extended the tenure of the bail for Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and three others in a case filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments for labour law violations.

Dhaka Labour Appellate Tribunal acting chairman MA Awal passed the order and set April 16 as the next date of hearing on the appeal filed by Yunus and three others challenging a labour court’s sentence in the case.

The three other convicts in the case are Grameen telecom directors Ashraful Hassan, M Shahjahan, and Nurjahan Begum.

However, the Labour Appellate Tribunal said that the period of the extended bail would be announced later.

After coming out of the tribunal, Yunus, also the chairman of Grameen Telecom, talking to journalists, said, ‘We all want the country’s welfare. Everyone wants to be engaged in work for the country. We have to spend time dealing with the cases, which harms us, harms everyone.’

‘However, let the legal process continue, and in the meantime, we want to be able to work in peace,’ he said, adding that ‘I hope I will get justice this time. I will get justice from the judiciary of the country — this is the desire of every citizen of the country.’

He said, ‘Time is being wasted, and we have had to be occupied for the cases. We could have done other work during this time. It’s now time to work, but we could have engaged everyone in this work. It is painful for us, [and] it hampers our work. We want to overcome this.’

Yunus, who is facing more than 170 cases, was sentenced on January 1 this year to six months in jail by the Third Dhaka Labour Court in a case filed by the DIFE for violating labour law at Grameen Telecom.

Later, Yunus and the other three convicts filed an appeal with the Labour Appellate Tribunal, challenging the verdict on January 28.

They also got bail for one month.

During the hearing, Yunus’s lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamun, applied before the court for an extension of their bail until the disposal of their appeal.

Meanwhile, Khurshid Alam Khan, a lawyer for the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishment, took part in the hearing and he requested the court grant bail for a limited period.

Later, the judge decided to extend the bail period. However, the court did not say how long it had been extended.

Earlier in the day, Yunus and three other convicts — Ashraful Hassan, M Shahjahan, and Nurjahan Begum — along with their lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun entered the appellate tribunal in Kakrail in Dhaka at about 11:00am.

The case against Yunus, also chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three directors of the company was filed on September 9, 2021, by DIFE inspector Arifuzzaman, accusing them of violating labour laws.

Meanwhile, Yunus’ lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun said that professor Yunus would also appear before the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court in Dhaka in the afternoon to seek bail in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.