The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Wednesday asked the Prothom Alo to furnish by January 14 next
the names and full addresses of the 50 signatories to the statement over its judgment against journalist David Bergman for contempt of court. The tribunal passed the order after it found absent in the original text of the statement submitted by the Prothom Alo authorities on compliance. On its own motion, the tribunal on December 28 asked the Prothom Alo editor to submit before it on Wednesday a copy of the full text of the statement signed by 50 citizens over its judgment against David Bergman for contempt of court. It asked Prothom Alo editor Motiur Rahman and rights activist Dr Shahdeen Malilk, the first signatories to the statement, to comply with its order.
The Prothom Alo, a vernacular daily, published the statement titled, ’50 citizens express concern punishing Bergman on December 20.
In its suo moto order, the tribunal had also expressed its resentment on the editorial published by the New York Times on December 23 criticising the judgment against Bergman, a British origin journalist working here in the daily New Age, and asked for overturning Bergman’ s sentence and conviction. On December 2, the tribunal after a lengthy hearing convicted David Bergman, also son in-law of noted jurist Dr Kamal Hossain, president of Gono Forum and a former minister, and sentenced him a symbolic jail term with fine.
