Journalist case in Croatia adjourned to seek Franco information

A court in Croatia has adjourned the re-trial of two journalists charged with defaming President Franjo Tudjman, saying it needed evidence from abroad to establish the truth.

The editor and the lead writer Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Culic of the satirical weekly magazine, Feral Tribune, published an article comparing the President to the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, after he proposed the reburial of Second World War Croatian fascists next to their victims.

A defence lawyer welcomed the adjournment, saying it was an elegant way for the authorities to avoid making a decision.

But the Feral Tribune editor said the trial had already served its real purpose, sending a message to journalists, not to criticise the Croatian President.

The two journalists were acquitted of insulting the president last September, but the State prosecutor appealed against the verdict, forcing a re-trial.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service