Durbin Meets with Bangladesh Ambassador to the U.S. to Urge an End to the Government's Troubling Harassment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Yunus
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Bangladesh Ambassador to the U.S., Muhammad Imran, to discuss the persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. For more than a decade, Professor Yunus has faced more than 100 unsubstantiated cases brought against him in Bangladesh. The harassment campaign against Professor Yunus has been denounced by more than 100 Nobel Prize winners, including former President Obama. Durbin led the effort in the United States Congress to award Professor Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal in 2013, recognizing his pioneering contributions in the fight against global poverty.
“The United States values its longstanding relationship with Bangladesh, and I appreciate its early help to Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Burma,” said Durbin. “But a failure to end this seemingly personal vendetta against Muhammad Yunus will negatively impact that partnership. As such, in today’s meeting with Mr. Imran, I again called for an end to the harassment of Professor Yunus.”
A photo of the meeting is available here.
The meeting follows a letter Durbin sent along with U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling for the end of Mr. Yunus’ harassment.
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