HC to diplomats: Be careful talking about matters pending in court

The High Court (HC) has observed that no foreign diplomat, including US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter D Haas, can speak about the judiciary of Bangladesh according to the Vienna Convention. The court said that diplomats should be careful while talking about matters pending at the court in Bangladesh.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ibadat Hossain came up with the observations on Monday.

Recently, Peter Haas said, “The US is closely monitoring the progress of the cases against Dr Muhammad Yunus and his colleagues. We are concerned that Bangladesh's labor laws can be abused in these cases.”
ACC's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan brought the matter to the attention of the HC, referring to Peter Haas's statement as contempt of court.

The HC then asked him whether the court can take any action if an ambassador makes a contemptuous statement about the matter under trial.

In reply, the lawyer said that the court cannot draw contempt proceedings against any ambassador or diplomat and cannot summon them, but it can express its observation.

The court then said that diplomats should be cautious when talking about matters pending in court.
Recently, the US Embassy in Dhaka on their official Facebook page posted a status about Dr Yunus. It said US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter D Haas feels honoured to host Dr Muhammad Yunus, the only Nobel laureate economist of Bangladesh.

The post also said the US is closely monitoring the progress of the cases against Dr Yunus and his colleagues.