A United States foreign correspondent on Friday launched a £2,3-million claim for unfair dismissal at a London tribunal, claiming that he had been sacked for refusing to cover the war in Iraq. Richard Gizbert, who had worked for US broadcaster ABC News for 11 years, believes his case has wide-ranging implications for other journalists.
Gizbert, who has worked in Chechnya, Bosnia and Rwanda, told ABC News in 2002 that he no longer wanted to cover dangerous areas. The network agreed to guarantee him 100 days’ freelance work a year and the freedom not to work in war zones. But in July 2004 it failed to renew his contract, citing budget cuts.
His lawyers argued on Friday that September 11 marked a turning point for journalists working in danger zones. Patrick Green, representing Gizbert, cited the deaths of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, BBC journalist Simon Cumbers in Saudi Arabia, and BBC producer Kate Peyton in Somalia, as evidence of the huge risks faced by journalists today.
Green said that regardless of precautions taken by news organisations, there was a ”residual risk” to journalists sent to war zones. But Mimi Gurbst, vice-president at ABC News, told the tribunal she had been ordered early last year to cut $10-million from her $130-million budget and that the dismissal of Gizbert had little to do with his refusal to go to Iraq.
”I would say that was, in a list, very low down if at all,” Gurbst said. ”It was easier to deal differently with freelance employees.” She also argued that ”paying Richard $1 000 a day to cover bureau duty was a luxury we could no longer afford”.
Martin Bell, the former BBC foreign correspondent, has agreed to appear as an expert witness for Gizbert and is expected to give evidence to the tribunal next week. The case continues. – Guardian Unlimited Â