Exposure defended (1)
01 January 1991
Exposure defended
artdoc July=1994
The European Commission for Human Rights has ruled that the
confiscation of an entire edition of the activist newspaper Bluf!
in 1987 was in conflict with the guarantees for freedom of
expression and the diffusion of information protected under the
European Convention. In the special edition, Bluf! published most
of the contents of a confidential BVD security service quarterly
report. Although none of the three arrested Bluf! editors were
ever prosecuted, the Dutch Supreme Court judged that the
distribution of the report had endangered national security. The
Court however found that since the press has a watchdog function
in a democracy, Bluf! carried out a democratic task by publishing
the BVD report.
Statewatch, vol 4 no 3, May-June 1994