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Much of the Western world lauds Prof Muhammad Yunus for his pioneering use of microloans

By Akbar Hossain & Kelly Ng

in Dhaka and Singapore

More than 170 global figures have called on Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina to stop the "persecution" of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Prof Yunus - known internationally as the "banker to the poor" - has been slapped with swathes of lawsuits, with several more filed in recent weeks.

The open letter said these represented an assault on democracy.

Ms Hasina responded harshly, accusing the 83-year-old of "begging" for an international statement.

She added that she welcomed international experts to assess the ongoing legal proceedings against Prof Yunus.

While much of the Western world lauds Prof Yunus for his pioneering use of microloans, Ms Hasina regards the 83-year-old as a public enemy.

She has repeatedly described Prof Yunus as a "bloodsucker" of the poor and accused his Grameen Bank of charging exorbitant interest rates.

The bank, which Prof Yunus started in 1983, offers small, long-term loans to help poor people start their own small businesses. The concept has since taken off around the world. In 2006, Prof Yunus and the bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.