Contempt case
ICT-2 jails Zafrullah Chy for one hour
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) yesterday pronounced one-hour jail and a fine of Tk. 5,000, in default one months imprisonment, for Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury, in a contempt case for criticising punishment of Bangladesh-based UK journalist David Bergman.
The ICT-2 exonerated 22 other eminent citizens after cautioning them, as they were found guilty for the first time. Zafrullah was found guilty of contempt of court for the second time. The tribunal said he should have been given significant punishment, but his age was taken into consideration. The three-member ICT-2, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, gave the verdict.
Later, the Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder told journalists: I will file an appeal against the verdict. He added that he would not pay the fine as he would be filing an appeal in a higher court.
Im not guilty of contempt. There is no evidence of any contempt against me, he claimed.
In response to a query, he said: I simply criticised the system of being made to stand during pronouncement of the verdict. He had to stand in the docks from around 12:50pm to 1:50pm.
The 22 who were exonerated from the contempt charges are: Jahangirnagar University economics Professor Anu Mohammad, women rights activist Shirin Haq, anthropology researcher Rehnuma Ahmed, photographer Shahidul Alam, Dhaka University teacher CR Abrar, cultural activist Lubna Mariam, rights activist Muktasree Chakma Sathi, Nari Grantha Prabartana executive director Farida Akter, journalist and writer Afsan Chowdhury, Australian National University researcher Beena D Costa, writers Shabnam Nadia and Mahmudur Rahman, filmmaker Nasrin Siraj Anee, Alal O Dulal blogs editor Tibro Ali, anthropologist Delwar Hossain, Masud Khan, lawyer Ziaur Rahman, Jarina Nahar kabir, Ali Ahmmed Ziauddin, singer Anusheh Anadil, rights activist Hana Shams Ahmed and cultural activist Lisa Gazi.
The tribunals prosecutor, Barrister Tureen Afroz, told reporters that the tribunal cautioned the 22 eminent citizens against making any statements on the tribunal verdict in future.
On December 2, 2014, the tribunal found Bergman, editor (special reports) of New Age, guilty of contempt of court for two of his blog posts of January 2013 on the verdict of Abul Kalam Azad, also known as Bachchu Razakar. He was sentenced to imprisonment till rising of the court that day and fined Tk 5,000.
On December 20 last year, the daily, Prothom Alo, ran a report under the headline 50 people express concern over Bergmans punishment, which stated that the order would restrict freedom of expression. One signatory, Khusi Kabir, later withdrew her name. The tribunal cleared 26 citizens of the charge as they apologised unconditionally.
Last month, the ICT-2 gave six more days to the remaining 23 eminent persons to respond to the tribunal why they should not be punished for contempt. The three-member tribunal asked them to place their replies before the tribunal by April 29. It also asked 15 of them living in the country to appear before it on the day.
The tribunal, on May 14, set June 10 to pass its order regarding the contempt proceedings against 23 eminent citizens who issued a joint statement criticising the ICTs token punishment awarded to journalist David Bergman for contempt of the tribunal.
On February 23, the tribunal acquitted 14 others after they issued unconditional apologies. They are lawyer Shahdeen Malik, SHUJON-Citizens for Good Governance president M Hafiz Uddin Khan and secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, former adviser to the caretaker government Rashida K Chowdhury, Dhaka University teachers Professor Imtiaz Ahmed and Amena Mohsin, Shishu Bikash Kendras Dr Naila Zaman Khan and Dr Shahnaz Huda, environmental activist Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Professor of Law at Dhaka University Asif Nazrul, rights activist Zakir Hossain, singer Arup Rahi, writer Shahin Akhter and rights activist Ilora Dewan.
