Staff Reporter :The International Crimes Tribunal [ICT] on Tuesday found David Bergman, a British journalist based in Dhaka, guilty of the contempt of court for disrespecting court by making remarks about the country’s War of Liberation in 1971 in one of his blog posts.The three-member ICT 2, led by Justice Obaidul Hasan, ordered him to pay a 5,000 taka fine or go to prison for a week.David Bergman, who is the editor [special reports] of the Daily New Age, was present before the court during the pronouncement of the verdict. His wife lawyer Sara Hossain, daughter of noted jurist and Constitution expert Dr Kamal Hossain, was also present there. The judges ordered that the British journalist, who also writes for Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, remain in the courtroom until they left their seats, in a symbolic imprisonment.The tribunal asked him to pay the fine within next seven [working] days through Treasury bill.Judges ruled that a blog and two other articles written by David Bergman “hurt the feelings of the nation” as he raised questions about the official death toll during the country’s 1971 Independence War.Delivering the verdict, the presiding judge Obaidul Hasan said, “Freedom of expression can be exercised in good faith and public interest. David Bergman neither has good faith nor an issue of public interest. The views expressed in his [David Bergman] blog were “irresponsible.”Asking the government to investigate Bergman’s reporting on its work, the Judge said, “He has a perverse mindset about the 1971 war. Let the government carefully scan the matter.”On February 18, Supreme Court lawyer Abul Kalam Azad filed the contempt petition against Bergman for his comments related to war crimes trials and questioned about the actual figure of deaths during the Liberation War in his blog post.In his blog post which Bergman wrote in 2011, challenged the government figure of three million fatalities in the Liberation War. The court said this was a “deliberate move to manipulate history”.Mustafizur Rahman, Bergman’s lawyer, said the verdict was a big disappointment but there was “no scope” to file an appeal.”It was our submission before the tribunal that the laws of Bangladesh permit constructive criticism of court orders and proceedings in a restrained language by a person having knowledge of its affairs,” Rahman told the newsmen.On the other hand, David Bergman said that he was “shocked”, and termed the order a matter of “great concern to those interested in freedom of speech and the proper scrutiny of state institutions”.Meanwhile, Advocate Sara Hossain has reacted sharply over the ICT judgement saying that it was a “big blow” on the spirit of Liberation War and her husband [David Bergman] has been “victimized”.Sara further said, “The contempt of court where there is no way to file appeal…the Constitution doesn’t grant it. These sorts of activities will not reflect good image of Bangladesh in outer world.””I think, there are two kinds of nationals in this country. One can marry nationals of other countries….the high-ups of government can do anything whatever they want. There is no problem. But those who raise questions about the government activities they will have to face trouble,” she said.
