Bangladeshi court sets date for microcredit pioneer's appeal

A day after the High Court upheld the removal of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank, the appellate court in Dhaka on Wednesday set a new date to hear his petitions.

The state attorney general's office said the petitions will be heard March 15.

Yunus has appealed the High Court order to Judge Syed Mahmud Hossain of the appellate division of the Supreme Court.

The internationally acclaimed microcredit pioneer and nine directors of his Grameen Bank filed two petitions seeking a stay of the High Court order, which confirmed that Yunus would not continue as managing director of Grameen Bank. He founded the bank three decades ago in what he said was an effort to alleviate poverty.

Bangladesh orders Nobel laureate from microlender

Bangladesh's government ordered Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus from his post as head of his microfinance bank Wednesday - a humiliating blow for an activist whose revolutionary idea of giving out small loans lifted many out of poverty. But the Grameen Bank said he remained in charge and that it would fight the decision.

The demand for Yunus' removal as Grameen's managing director capped a string of problems that faced the outspoken government critic, including an apparently politically motivated defamation trial and accusations of an unauthorized bank transfer 15 years ago.

Bangladesh's central bank ordered him out, arguing that he violated the country's retirement laws, A.F.M. Asaduzzaman, an official at Bangladesh Bank, told The Associated Press. Grameen Bank has been notified by letter, Asaduzzaman said, providing no further details. The government owns a 25 percent stake in Grameen, while the remainder of the bank is owned by its borrowers.

In a statement, however, Grameen said Yunus was still holding his post.

Yunus is "continuing his work as the managing director of the bank," said the brief statement signed by Jannat-E-Quanine, general manager of the bank. "Since it's a legal issue, we will fight it legally."

Yunus founded the bank three decades ago, pioneering the concept of reducing poverty by making tiny loans to the poor. His work, which spurred a boom in such lending across the developing world, earned him and the bank the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

Recently, Yunus has been under pressure at home. In addition to his legal troubles, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Grameen Bank and other microfinance institutions of charging high interest rates and "sucking blood from the poor borrowers."

But he remains a hero to the poor.

Shefali Akter, 25, who has taken out two loans totaling 70,000 takas ($1,000) from Grameen since 2002, called Yunus' removal "bad news."