Bangladesh court finds UK journalist guilty of contempt for doubting death toll of 1971 war
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}British journalist David Bergman speaks to journalists outside the International Crimes Tribunal court building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. A court in Bangladesh dealing with war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence has found Bergman guilty of contempt for questioning the official death toll of that conflict. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)
A special tribunal in Bangladesh dealing with war crimes committed during the country's independence war has found a British journalist guilty of contempt for questioning the official death toll of the 1971 conflict.
The court ruled Tuesday that a 2011 blog post and two other articles by David Bergman offended the nation and ordered him to pay a fine of 5,000 Takas ($65) or go to jail for a week.
Bangladeshi officials say 3 million people were killed and hundreds of thousands of women raped during the war of independence against Pakistan. Bergman said there was no evidence supporting that number. The issue is hugely sensitive in Bangladesh.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bergman works for New Age, a Dhaka-based English-language daily, and contributes to the British newspaper The Telegraph.