Bright's Blog
Politics uncovered by Martin Bright, New Statesman political editor
Mr Nadmi Auchi (an update)
- Posted by Martin Bright
- 04 June 2008
The Iraqi billionaire convicted of fraud in France has forced the Guardian-Observer to remove six articles from its website
[I have decided to repost this. The lawyers representing Iraqi-British billionaire Nadhmi Auchi, have requested several changes to the original piece].
I was humbled by many of the winners at the Index on Censorship awards for freedom of expression last night (April 21). But I was especially struck by the comments of Julian Assange of Wikileaks, the phenomenally successful whistleblowing site. In particular he mentioned the importance of the unfashionable concept of syndicalism (for most people it seems Trade Unions are so last century) which had helped Wikileaks survive legal attacks in the US. His words truly warmed my heart.
More worrying was the news that the Guardian/Observer has been forced to pull down six articles about Nadhmi Auchi, the Iraqi businessman convicted of fraud in France in 2003. [Mr Auchi's lawyers have asked us to state that he denies guilt and is challenging the fairness of the trial in the European Court.] Auchi has been on the warpath since his name was connected with Tony Rezko, the Illinois fundraiser currently on trial in America, who was one of Barack Obama's earliest backers. In the UK, The Times has been pursuing the story with impressive tenacity.
The articles are still available in various places on the web but it's probably wise not to link to them from here! [Mr Auchi's lawyers have written to ask us to remove the names of the articles concerned.]
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