the legal battle:

ITN vs LM

Two-Ten Statement in Open Court


The legal documents so far:

The original letter from ITN's solicitors

Statement of Claim from ITN

The Defence

>Two-Ten Statement in Open Court

The Reply

The Defendants' List of Documents

Request For Further and Better Particulars of the Defence

The Reply to the Request

Request for Further and Better Particulars of the Reply


IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE 1997-M-No.354

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION

BETWEEN:

[1] PENELOPE MARSHALL

[2] IAN WILLIAMS

[3] INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS LIMITED - Plaintiffs

- and -

TWO-TEN COMMUNITCATIONS LIMITED - Defendants

__________________________________________

STATEMENT IN OPEN COURT

__________________________________________

Plaintiff's Solicitor:

My Lord, in this libel action I appear for the plaintiffs.

On 5th August 1992, Penny Marshall and Ian Williams, ITN journalists, and an ITN camera team, were amongst a small group of journalists who were the first to be permitted under military escort to visit the Omarska and Trnopolje camps set up by the Bosnian Serbs for the detention of Bosnian Moslems in northern Bosnia. The conditions within the camps were appalling. The resulting ITN news reports broadcast on 6th August 1992 on ITV and Channel 4 shocked the world and aroused international opinion to intervene in the Yugoslavian conflict. The reports subsequently received a number of prestigious awards including Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards.

On 23rd January 1997, the Defendant, Two-Ten Communications Limited, transmitted on its UNS service, a press release from Living Marxism concerning an article in the then forthcoming edition of Living Marxism by a German journalist, Thomas Deichmann. It refers to one image taken from the ITN reports of an emaciated Bosnian Moslem, Fikret Alic, behind barbed-wire at Trnopolje which was subsequently reproduced by news organisations throughout the world. The Living Marxism press release alleged that the image had been created by "camera angles and editing" and had "fooled the world". It stated that there was no barbed wire-fence surrounding the camp nor were the refugees in the picture surrounded by barbed-wire. It said the camp was a collection centre for refugees, not a prison. It accused Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and their team of concealing the truth about the image from the rest of the world when it was used by others as an example of the Bosnian Serbs' inhumanity to the Bosnian Moslems. In summary, the Living Marxism press release accused Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN of perpetrating a gross deception on the public by deliberately and dishonestly fabricating the news and then concealing what they had done.

These allegations of deception and concealment are completely untrue. The images of the Bosnian Moslem, Fikret Alic, behind barbed wire was not concocted by the journalists and cameraman. The news reports did not describe Trnopolje as a Nazi-style concentration camp nor anything similar. It was described by Penny Marshall as a refugee centre and by Ian Williams as a detention camp. The Moslem detainees of whom Fikret Alic was one, were described as homeless, persecuted and behind wire, which they were. The reports described how in another part of the camp there were some Moslems who had come there by choice seeking refuge and that no-one the journalists had spoken to knew why they had been brought there: whether they were prisoners, refugees or what lay in store for them. The reports did not describe the camp as ringed with barbed-wire, but the group of men which included Fikret Alic were being detained by the Serbs. When the journalists spoke to them they were standing behind barbed-wire in a fenced compound guarded by armed Bosnian Serbs without shade (the temperature was 100 degrees) with no sanitary facilities and with little food. Film of other parts of the camp which were not fenced in were also included in the report. They did not distort the reality of Trnopolje as alleged in the Living Marxism press release. As would be expected of ITN, the reports were accurate and impartial almost to a fault given what is now known about Trnopolje and Omarska.

It is now clear form the Final Report of the United Nation's Commission of Experts which investigated the Serb camps in Northern Bosnia that the camp was a concentration camp. Although some of the Moslem inmates arrived voluntarily having been informed it would provide a safe haven from Serbian assaults, most inmates were forced there by Serbian forces or were transferred to Trnopolje from other camps such as Omarska and Keraterm where soldiers and other men of fighting age were collected and systematically interrogated. Once at Trnopolje inmates were sorted and further interrogated, but on a much less systematic basis. If civilian, they were deported from northern Bosnia to Moslem areas; many women inmates were raped by the Bosnian Serbs. If they had served in the Moslem military forces many of them were beaten and some were murdered. Most of the men behind the wire had recently arrived from the Omarska and Keraterm camps which have been described by the United Nations Commission of Experts as "death camps" where many Moslem prisoners had been beaten, tortured and murdered.

The false allegations in the Living Marxism press release transmitted by Two-Ten Communications to media organisations here and abroad was so damaging to the Plaintiff's reputations that they were compelled to take action to put the record straight. Two-Ten Communications has agreed to indemnify Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN in respect of their legal costs and has, of course, undertaken not to repeat the libels. It is here today to accept publicly that the allegations of deception and concealment on the part of the Plaintiffs are without foundation and to apologise to them for the distress and damage which these allegations have caused.

Defendant's Solicitor:

My Lord, I appear on behalf of the Defendant, Two-Ten Communications Limited.

Two-Ten Communications distributes press releases word for word as provided by its clients without any editorial input or amendment. It does not make any comment or judgement on the content of such press releases.

Two-Ten Communications wishes to express its sincere apologies to Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN for the very real distress and damage caused to them by the allegations of deceit and concealment made in Living Marxism's press release which it accepts are untrue and without foundation.

Two-Ten Communications is happy to undertake to the Court through me that those allegations will not be repeated.

Plaintiff's Solicitor:

My Lord, in these circumstances, I ask for leave to withdraw the record.

______________________________________________

Text of the release to be transmitted immediately following the making of the Statement in Open Court as a UNS Alert under catchlines:

[1] Media Bosnia Alert

[2] Media ITN Alert

[3] Media Living Marxism Alert

______________________________________________

In the High Court today, Two-Ten Communications apologised to Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN for allegations made about them in a Living Marxism press release transmitted on the UNS service on 23rd January 1997.

ITN's solicitor told the Court:

"On 5th August 1992, Penny Marshall and Ian Williams, ITN journalists, and ITN camera team, were amongst a small group of journalists who were the first to be permitted under military escort to visit the Omarska and Trnopolje camps set up by the Bosnian Serbs for the detention of Bosnian Moslems in northern Bosnia. The conditions within the camps were appalling. The resulting ITN news reports broadcast on 6th August 1992 on ITV and Channel 4 shocked the world and aroused international opinion to intervene in the Yugoslavian conflict. The reports subsequently received a number of prestigious awards including the Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards.

On 23rd January 1997, the Defendant, Two-Ten Communications Limited, transmitted on its UNS service, a press release from Living Marxism concerning an article in the then forthcoming edition of Living Marxism by a German journalist, Thomas Deichmann. It refers to one image taken from the ITN reports of an emaciated Bosnian Moslem, Fikret Alic, behind barbed-wire at Trnopolje which was subsequently reproduced by news organisations throughout the world. The Living Marxism press release alleged that the image had been created by "camera angles and editing" and had "fooled the world". It stated that there was no barbed wire-fence surrounding the camp nor were the refugees in the picture surrounded by barbed-wire. It said the camp was a collection centre for refugees, not a prison. It accused Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and their team of concealing the truth about the image from the rest of the world when it was used by others as an example of Bosnian Serbs' inhumanity to the Bosnian Moslems. In summary, the Living Marxism press release accused Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN of perpetrating a gross deception on the public by deliberately and dishonestly fabricating the news and then concealing what they had done.

These allegations of deception and concealment are completely untrue. The image of the Bosnian Moslem, Fikret Alic, behind barbed wire was not concocted by the journalists and cameraman. The news reports did not describe Trnopolje as a Nazi-style concentration camp nor anything similar. It was described by Penny Marshall as a refugee centre and by Ian Williams as a detention camp. The Moslem detainees of whom Fikret Alic was one, was described as homeless, persecuted and behind wire, which they were. The reports described how in another part of the camp there were some Moslems who had come there by choice seeking refuge and that no-one the journalists had spoken to knew why they had been brought there: whether they were prisoners, refugees or what lay in store for them. The reports did not describe the camp as ringed with barbed-wire, but the group of men which included Fikret Alic were being detained by the Serbs. When the journalists spoke to them they were standing behind barbed-wire in a fenced compound guarded by armed Bosnian Serbs without shade (the temperature was 100 degrees) with no sanitary facilities and with little food. Film of other parts of the camp which were not fenced in were also included in the reports. They did not distort the reality of Trnopolje as alleged in the Living Marxism press release. As would be expected of ITN, the reports were accurate and impartial almost to a fault given what is now known about Trnopolje and Omarska.

It is now clear form the Final Report of the United Nation's Commission of Experts which investigated the Serb camps in Northern Bosnia that the camp was a concentration camp. Although some of the Moslem inmates arrived voluntarily having been informed it would provide a safe haven from Serbian assaults, most inmates were forced there by Serbian forces or were transferred to Trnopolje from other camps such as Omarska and Keraterm where soldiers and other men of fighting age were collected and systematically interrogated. Once at Trnopolje inmates were sorted and further interrogated, but on a much less systematic basis. If civilian, they were deported from northern Bosnia to Moslem areas; many women inmates were raped by the Bosnian Serbs. If they had served in the Moslem military forces many of them were beaten and some were murdered. Most of the men behind the wire had recently arrived from the Omarska and Keraterm camps which have been described by the United Nations Commission of Experts as "death camps" where many Moslem prisoners had been beaten, tortured and murdered.

The false allegations in the Living Marxism press release transmitted by Two-Ten Communications to media organisations here and abroad was so damaging to the Plaintiff's reputations that they were compelled to take action to put the record straight. Two-Ten Communications has agreed to indemnify Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN in respect of their legal costs and has, of course, undertaken not to repeat the libels. It is here today to accept publicly that the allegations of deception and concealment on the part of the Plaintiffs are without foundation and to apologise to them for the distress and damage which these allegations have caused".

Two-Ten Communications' solicitor said:

"Two-Ten Communications distributes press releases word for word as provided by its clients without any editorial input or amendment. It does not make any comment or judgement on the content of such press releases.

Two-Ten Communications wishes to express its sincere apologies to Penny Marshall, Ian Williams and ITN for the very real distress and damage caused to them by the allegations of deceit and concealment made in Living Marxism's press release which it accepts are untrue and without foundation.

Two-Ten Communications is happy to undertake to the Court that those allegations will not be repeated".

The Reply