The US encouraged the Bangladesh government to ensure a fair and transparent legal process for Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus as the appeals process in his labour law violations case continues.

US State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel made the remarks at a regular briefing yesterday.

He also said the US shares concerns voiced by other international observers that the cases against Muhammad Yunus may represent a misuse of Bangladesh's labour laws as a way to intimidate him.

He was asked how the State Department viewed the filing of a fresh corruption charge against Yunus and the fact that the High Court ordered him to notify a labour appellate tribunal before travelling abroad.

A coalition of 243 global leaders, including 125 Nobel laureates, earlier expressed concern over the judicial harassment of Prof Yunus; and 12 bipartisan US senators, led by Senator Dick Durbin, called for an halt to all harassment.

Vedant Patel was also asked about the status of implementing visa restrictions for those who undermined elections in Bangladesh given the concern that the recent election in Bangladesh did not reflect the will of the people of Bangladesh.

Patel said, "So I don't have any updates or changes to offer when it comes to policy. My understanding is that these policies don't sunset just because the election is over, but I don't have any updates to offer.

"There is no change in policy."