11/14/06

Danish journalists on trial for publishing leaked intelligence reports on Iraq


COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The editor in chief and two reporters at one of Denmark's largest newspapers went on trial Nov. 13 for publishing classified intelligence reports about former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's weapons program.

A former intelligence officer has previously been sentenced to prison for leaking the documents in the case, which is viewed in Denmark as a landmark test of media freedom.

Niels Lunde, the Berlingske Tidende newspaper's top editor, and reporters Michael Bjerre and Jesper Larsen, face charges of publishing confidential government documents, which is punishable by fines or up to two years in prison.

In February and March 2004, Bjerre and Larsen wrote a series of articles based on leaked reports from the Danish Defense Intelligence Service. The reports said there was no evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction during Saddam's rule _ one of the main reasons behind the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Prosecutors say the newspaper violated a law prohibiting media from publishing classified information that can harm national security.

Defense attorney Henrik Dahl told the court his clients had done nothing wrong "because there was a huge public interest" in the information they published.

"A conviction would be an encroachment on the freedom of speech," he told a packed courtroom.

The defense's witnesses include two former foreign ministers, Mogens Lykketoft and Niels Helveg Petersen, and Aidan White, the head of the International Federation of Journalists, the world's largest organization of journalists.

Former intelligence officer Frank Grevil was convicted last year of leaking the documents to the reporters, and sentenced to four months in prison. During his trial, he claimed he was acting in the public interest.

A verdict in the current case is expected Nov. 27 at the earliest.