UNB, Dhaka : The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Tuesday jailed British origin journalist David Bergman, working at the daily New Age here, simple imprisonment till rising of the court on charge of contempt of court for his campaign through scandalous and contemptuous writings. The tribunal also fined him Tk 5,000 and he will have to serve seven days’ simple imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine in seven working days from Tuesday, with a with a serious note of warning not to repeat such acts. “We’re of unanimous view that the contemnor is found guilty and responsible for making the offending scandalous comments using derogatory and unfair words and phrases that tended to attack and lower the authority and majesty of the tribunal for which the contemnor deserves punishment under section 11(4) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973,” said the tribunal while disposing of the contempt-of-court case. Bergman, son-in-law of noted jurist Dr Kamal Hossain, a former minister during the post-independence government, served the sentence that lasted for just five minutes. During serving the sentence, Bergman was flanked by his wife Barrister Sara Hossain. Emerging from the court, aggrieved Sara told reporters that this judgment of the tribunal is a serious blow to the Liberation War spirit as its ethos was to ensure the right to freedom of thinking and expression. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, in its order said: “The fountain of justice cannot be allowed to be infected by any individual or a journalist or a quarter who is disgruntled with the judicial process being carried out by this tribunal.” “We, therefore, cannot take a compassionate or indulgent view of the matter, merely treating the criticism by the contemnor to have been made in exercise of right to freedom of expression,” it said. The ICT said: “Contemnor’s deliberate attempt to scandalise the court tended not only to shake the confidence of the public and the nation as well in the system but also tended to cause detriments too to the objective of the Act of 1973 and the trial process being held in the tribunal.” Responding to a contempt petition, filed by Abul Kalam Azad, a lawyer, the tribunal on February 20 issued a contempt rule upon Bergman to come up with his explanation before it over his stance, questioning the tribunal’s observations during judgments. The petitioner filed the contempt petition saying Bergman made “relentless efforts to justify that the tribunal was absolutely wrong in mentioning three million deaths and the number of 200,000 women raped in 1971. Besides, he through his write-ups posted on November 11, 2011 and January 28, 2013 maligned the dignity of the tribunal and tended it and its members into public hatred.” About his writings, the ICT order observed: “David Bergman has indeed gone too far by spreading his unfounded, distorted view that is slanderous to the glorious history of our War of Liberation. Is he ignorant of the history of our independence? Or does he deliberately intend to taint our pride we achieved through the bloody War of Liberation? The view David Bergman has placed in the article inevitably proves his unholy and purposeful tendency and mindset to demean and malign not only the trial process in the tribunal but also the ‘magnificent War of Liberation’. David Bergman has shown patent disrespect to our ‘proclamation of independence ‘by uttering that ‘the Pakistan military used force to try to prevent the Awami League, whose supporters were Bengalis living in East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh), from coming to power.” “It was the Bengali nation who fought for their independence and self-determination. Nobody living in the land of our motherland Bangladesh should have license to disrespect the sacrifice the nation made in achieving independent Bangladesh, by expressing such unfounded, purposeful and prejudicial view,” contended the tribunal. . The ICT further said: ”Contemnor’s attempt rather strikes a blow to the supremacy and authority of the tribunal and thus the effort he made was ‘purposeful’ that substantially endorsed the unholy campaign of some quarters to malign the judicial process of the tribunal.” About Bergman’s present status, the ICT said: ”Admittedly, David Bergman is a foreign national. By profession he is a journalist and has been working in Bangladesh. It has not yet been made transparent, by the contemnor, on what basis he has been here and working as a journalist. On query, it could be learnt that the contemnor has got married to a Bangladeshi citizen and in that capacity he has been staying here.” The contemnor, a foreign national and a journalist by profession, has rather acted as a mere ‘mouthpiece’ of the quarters engaged in the act of organised undesirable campaign, by circulating unfair, unreasonable and scandalising ‘criticism’, noted the tribunal. Earlier, on February 19, 2012, the tribunal that deals with the 1971 crimes against humanity disposed of its suo moto contempt-of-court charge for publishing contemptuous article over the tribunal by David Bergman exonerating him from the charge and giving serious caution to be more careful in the future. Barrister Mustafizur Rahman Khan appeared for Bergman.
