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".
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