A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for violating labor laws, which he denies, Reuters reported.

Muhammad Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for lifting millions of people out of poverty by providing small loans of less than $100 to people in rural Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredits.

However, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused him of “sucking the blood of the poor.”

His supporters say the government is trying to discredit him because he once considered forming a political party to rival Hasina’s Awami League.

Yunus, an economist by profession, and three employees of Grameen Telecom, the company he founded, were sentenced on Monday for failing to set up a welfare fund for their employees.

“This sentence against me contradicts all legal precedents and logic. I call on the people of Bangladesh to speak with one voice against injustice and in favor of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens,” Yunus said after the sentencing.

Responding to the defendants’ request, the court granted them bail pending a possible appeal. “The court released them on bail, giving them one month to file an appeal against the court’s verdict,” said public prosecutor Khurshid Alam Khan.

Abdullah Al Mamoun, Yunus’ lawyer, said the defendants would appeal the verdict, calling the case politically motivated and aimed at persecuting Yunus.

Yunus faces more than 100 other charges related to labor law violations and alleged corruption. Human rights groups have accused Hasina’s government of trying to suppress political dissent.

Hasina is seeking a fifth term – her fourth in a row – in the Jan. 7 election, which the main opposition party is calling for a voter boycott. (News.ro)