HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Associated Press December 18, 2001 Ex-president's wife loses lawsuit against TV for airing "defamatory" broadcast on Franjo Tudjman ZAGREB, Croatia, Dec. 18 (AP) -- The widow of Croatia's former president on Tuesday lost a lawsuit against the editors of state television whom she sued for airing a British-produced documentary that claimed he covered up war crimes and stole money. Ankica Tudjman insisted the independently produced documentary, aired by Croatian television last year, contained false charges and was defamatory toward her late husband Franjo Tudjman, who died two years ago. But Judge Mladen Zeravica acquitted state television's editor in chief and four other editors, saying that the Croatian public "has a right to know what the foreign media is saying about our country, and the late president." "The public is mature enough to judge whether such reports are truthful or not," Zeravica said, according to the state-run news agency HINA. Many in Croatia suspect that Tudjman covered up, perhaps even condoned, Croat war crimes in wars in Croatia and neighboring Bosnia, and that he and his associates amassed fortunes through shadowy financial deals during his nine-year tenure. Such claims regularly trigger fierce reaction and denials from his supporters. Tudjman's family claims that the new, pro-Western government that succeeded him makes every effort to blacken his image. In the lawsuit, filed in July, Mrs. Tudjman sought 100,000 Kuna (dlrs. 11,960) in damages. It was not immediately clear whether she would appeal the ruling. ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
