The February 1997 issue of LM magazine ran a story which raised
embarrassing questions about ITN's award-winning pictures from a Bosnian
Serb-run camp.
ITN tried to have every copy of the magazine, which contained the article
'The Picture that Fooled the World' by German journalist Thomas Deichmann,
pulped.
LM refused to back down and ITN then sued the magazine's editor and
publishers for libel.
ITN and its lawyers have made it clear that they are not simply seeking to
set the record straight, but to inflict punitive damages on LM - in effect,
to put the magazine out of business and gag it for good.
In Europe, newspapers and television stations have discussed the issue
widely. In Britain, there has largely been silence.
The consequences of ITN's actions are that discussion on this important
issue has been closed down and the future of LM itself is at stake.
ITN's latest legal submission accuses the magazine of 'express malice' - a
charge which carries the threat of punitive damages if accepted by the
courts. In No ordinary libel case Helen
Searls exposes the potential of this ominous new use of the libel laws to
impose yet further restrictions on free speech.
This website tells the whole story ITN does not want you to read, and
explains what has happened so far in the libel case.
Join us to defend press freedom and free speech against this unprecedented
attack by a media giant.
You can:
Sign the Appeal in defence of free speech
Send donations to the LM Libel Appeal
Ask LM's legal co-ordinator Helen Searls questions about the footage and
the case
Submit coverage you have seen
Suggest links to other sites of interest
An open letter from Mick Hume, editor of LM, explaining why the magazine is
refusing to give in to ITN's libel writs and gagging orders