Kojo Annan was smeared! Wins settlement in his libel case against the

[Wordie]

Sunday Times for claiming he was involved in Iraq oil-for-food corruption.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2005/11/12/1303819-sun.html
Sat, November 12, 2005
Paper apologizes to Annan's son

By AP
LONDON -- The son of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accepted a settlement from a British newspaper that claimed he was involved in selling Iraqi oil during Saddam Hussein's rule, his lawyer said yesterday.

Businessman Kojo Annan had brought High Court libel proceedings over a January story in the Sunday Times. His lawyer, Simon Smith, said the newspaper claimed Kojo Annan admitted to a friend that he had been involved in negotiations to sell two million barrels of Iraqi oil to a Moroccan company in 2001 as part of the corruption-riddled UN oil-for-food program.

Smith said Times Newspapers Ltd. had agreed to pay Kojo Annan "substantial" damages and cover his legal costs. Smith would not specify the amount.

[Dinger]

1. This IS BIG News

and I read about it in the newspaper, but of course, nothing on t.v. I hope this has a positive effect on George Galloway's upcoming (?) ass-kicking of little normie cole"man". By the way, what's the latest on that?

[brainshrub]

2. It's easy to win a libel suit in England.

This doesn't mean much.

[Wordie]

3. BBC: Independent investigation by the UN found no evidence to support

the allegations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4428050.stm
<snip>
A UN-ordered independent inquiry recently found the scheme had been subverted by some of those involved, including businesses, UN officials and international politicians and diplomats.

The Iraqi regime was also found to have offered individuals vouchers for barrels of oil - sometimes millions at a time - in return for political influence, for example opposing UN sanctions on Iraq.

The investigation admonished the UN for mismanagement of the programme.

It also investigated the allegation made by the Sunday Times - that Kojo Annan was involved in negotiations to sell two million barrels of Iraqi oil to a Moroccan company in 2001 - and found no evidence to support it.

[brainshrub]

5. I'm not saying that Kojo did anything wrong,

I'm just saying that the importance of this suit is easy to overstate.

[Wordie]

6. Well, the paper did issue an apology and retraction.

If the charges against Kojo were true, one would have thought they would fight the suit, rather than settling.

[Benbow]

4. That's an odd thing to say - "easy"

Or are you referring to the differences between US and UK laws of libel? I would say that an easy and quick way to get sued in England is to libel someone. In the US, one seems to be able to defame people at will, with impunity, protected by the 1st Amendment.

[Wordie]

7. An important distinction. Thanks. ::thinking British law is better:: eom

[Chipper Chat]

8. Hannity's not going to like this.

He still has his guillotine ready!
F U Shammity!

[McCamy Taylor]

9. Will this see the light of day in the US Press?

[Wordie]

10. I've emailed KO. Don't know if that will help or not. Too bad this was

announced over the weekend, when it's easy to lose stories. I hope others will work on circulating it, because it deserves attention.