British Journalist Faces Contempt Charges İn Bangladesh

A Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal on Thursday summoned a Dhaka-based British journalist, claiming articles he wrote were in contempt of the court. 



The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a domestic court, gave David Bergman 15 days to explain why he should not be punished for articles about the tribunal and questioning the number of people killed during the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. 



Bergman, an editor with the Bangladeshi newspaper 'New Age,' had wrote on his blog that there is little evidence to support the frequently "ed figure of 3 million killed in the 1971 war. He was also asked about a blog post on the indictment of senior opposition leaders and the death penalty handed to one of them. 



"Any criticisms of the tribunal contained in these articles were 'fair criticism' and permitted under Bangladeshi law," Bergman said on his blog. "They were accurate, referenced other published materials and legal decisions, and were made in sober and restrained language."



Supreme court lawyer Abdul Kalam Azad filed a petition against Bergman, which the journalist said had "made wide and general allegations." 



"The court in its order today has also not identified which particular parts of the articles they consider to be 'prima facie' in contempt."



By Ferdous Ahmad Bhuiyan - Dakka