DHAKA, Bangladesh
More than 20 Bangladeshi activists will face contempt of court charges for allegedly criticizing a court that deals with war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war.
The domestic International Crimes Tribunal ordered on Wednesday for the activists to explain why they should not face proceedings regarding a joint statement denouncing the tribunal’s use of the contempt of court law against Bangladesh-based journalist David Bergman.
Bergman was found guilty in December 2014 for blog posts questioning the official death toll during the 1971 war.
The original statement, published in December, was signed by 50 lawyers, activists, academics and writers to "express our deep concern about the use of contempt of court law to curb freedom of expression."
They also called for reform of the contempt of court law "as it is a relic of our colonial past that undermines the very spirit of Bangladesh’s glorious war of national liberation."
Many of the original signatories have since apologized and withdrawn their statements while the remaining 23, who have now been ordered to appear in court, have only expressed regret over the statement.
The court said however that their statements of regret were not enough, as they were "without real and sincere remorse" and criticized them for actually trying to defend their statement by claiming it was protected by the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
"The Tribunal thus finds that it [the statement of regret] has been merely tendered as a ‘weapon of defence’," said the court order issued Wednesday, which accused the signatories of belittling the court's "authority and institutional dignity."
An activist following the case closely said the court was silencing any criticism against it.
"There's no way you can criticize the ICT (International Crimes Tribunal), they're the judges, they're the jury," they said, emphasizing that, for any apology, the court was only willing to accept very specific phrasing.
"The language the court will accept is so 1900," they said. "Unless you say you are willing to 'throw yourself to the mercy of the court' then they don't accept it."
They added that they expected to be convicted of contempt of court, which is a criminal offense in Bangladesh.
"The tribunal says it welcomes fair criticism but in reality it doesn't. This should not be a criminal offense," they said.
The New York Times has also been summoned by the court for an editorial published in support of Bergman.
The court has previously raised complaints about criticism of the trials from The Economist magazine and Human Rights Watch.
The International Crimes Tribunal was set up in 2009 in Bangladesh to investigate and prosecute suspects who allegedly committed war crimes during the 1971 war of independence war with Pakistan. According to official figures, up to 3 million people were killed during the war.
