Statement in Open Court

08 June 2004

Adam Musa King and Telegraph Group Limited

Barton Taylor, Solicitor for the Claimant
In this libel action I appear for the Claimant. My Friend, Mr Beabey, appears for the Defendant.

The Claimant is an Internet website designer. He is the creator of the Internet news service and reference tool Mathaba.Net. He is also the founder of Green Charter International, an organisation devoted to promoting the Green Charter of Human Rights. Although he changed his name to Adam Musa King by deed poll in June 1999, he is still widely known by his former name, Louis Szondy.

The Defendant is the publisher of the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The action concerns two articles published in the Sunday Telegraph in the aftermath of the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001.
The first article was published on the front page of the issue for 21 October 2001. Although it did not identify the Claimant by name, the article suggested he was to be suspected of being an accomplice of Osama bin Laden's network of terrorists who had assisted that organisation with website activities.

The second article, which named the Claimant and was illustrated with a large photograph of him, appeared in the Sunday Telegraph of 9 December 2001. It too suggested there were good grounds to suspect him of being an accomplice and supporter of Al Qaeda. The photograph, which originally depicted his abuse at the hands of the Islamist regime in Sudan, was thus used out of context, and added to the impact of that suggestion. The article also suggested the Claimant advocated violent Islamic extremism and that he represented a threat to the Jewish community in this country.

As the Defendant now accepts, there was in fact no truth in any of those suggestions. Terrorism of any kind has always been abhorrent to the Claimant. Nor has he ever advocated or supported violence of any description or political change by anything other than peaceful, democratic means. Contrary to what was stated in the second article, the Claimant's website, Mathaba.net, is not "an internet site for Islamic extremists". Nor is his political organisation, Green Charter International, "fanatically pro-Libyan". In consequence, as may well be imagined, the Claimant found the articles extremely offensive and distressing.

In the result, in addition to joining in this statement and apologising to the Claimant for the injury and distress caused by the publication of these articles, the Defendant has agreed to pay the Claimant a substantial sum in damages as well as his reasonable costs. The Defendant has also agreed to give an undertaking not to repeat any of the statements complained of and to publish a fair and accurate report of this statement in an appropriately prominent position in the Sunday Telegraph.

Benjamin Beabey, Solicitor for the Defendant
My Lord, on behalf of the Defendant I confirm everything my Friend, Mr Taylor, has said.

The Defendant offers its sincere apology to the Claimant. It hopes that by making this statement and by the report of it that will appear in the Sunday Telegraph, the record will have been set straight.

Solicitor for the Claimant
In the circumstances, My Lord, it only remains for me to ask that the record be withdrawn.

Barton Taylor
Carter-Ruck
Solicitors for the Claimant

Benjamin Beabey
Farrer & Co
Solicitors for the Defendant