Bangladesh’s micro-finance pioneer Muhammad Yunus appeared briefly in a court accused of defamation. The founder of Grameen Bank is charged over comments he made about Bangladeshi politicians in a 2007 media interview. The Nobel peace laureate’s remarks were published in several newspapers the following day. A spokesman for the Yunus Centre said Muhammad Yunus did appear in court today and he was given bail. The centre said it will issue a detailed news release soon.

The case against Prof Yunus was filed in January 2007, following a complaint by the joint general secretary of the left-leaning Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal party. Prof Yunus was quoted at the time as telling AFP news agency that politicians in Bangladesh only work for money. There is no ideology here.