Journalist Forced To Testify

The U.N. war crimes tribunal said Tuesday it would force a U.S. journalist to testify, rejecting his argument that press freedoms would be curtailed.

Judges ruled that former Washington Post correspondent Jonathan Randal must appear at the trial of former Bosnian Serb Deputy Prime Minister Radoslav Brdjanin, tribunal spokesman Jim Landale said.

"His motion has now been dismissed so he will be required to testify," Landale said.

Lawyers have said the decision could set a precedent on journalists' rights in covering wars.

Prosecutors subpoenaed Randal and said they wanted him to testify because of a 1993 article he wrote that included an interview with Brdjanin showing he wanted to get rid of the non-Serb population.

Randal refused, saying that forcing journalists to appear as witnesses would curtail their ability to get sensitive information and might put them in danger.

Judges agreed that in some sensitive cases freedom of the press might be threatened, but this would arise largely when a journalist had to protect a confidential source.

"Randal does not mince his words or hide his primary source," judges wrote in a ruling dated June 7.

"The assertion that this subpoena and others like it in similar circumstances would restrict the freedom of the expression of journalists or the freedom of the media are utterly unfounded," the judgment said.

Judges acknowledged the importance of the media in exposing atrocities and human rights violations, but added that perpetrators may not be brought to justice if journalists could never be forced to testify.

Randal, who is now retired and lives in Paris, had offered to submit a statement to prosecutors, but Brdjanin's lawyers rejected the idea saying they wanted to cross-examine him.

Brdjanin has been charged along with General Momir Talic with playing a pivotal role in deporting, torturing and murdering Croats and Muslims during the 1992-95 conflict.

In his article, Randal described Brdjanin, then housing administrator in Banja Luca, as an avowed radical Serb nationalist who had told him that Bosnians unwilling to defend Serb territory should be moved out in a peaceful manner.

Brdjanin was also quoted as criticizing the leadership in neighboring Serbia for worrying too much about human rights.

"We are going to defend our frontiers at any cost...and wherever our army boots stand, that's the situation," he was quoted as saying.