The newspaper ran a series of stories stating that there were no confirmed weapons of mass destruction in Iraq under former dictator Saddam Hussein's rule. Prosecutors are claming that publishing such stories was a breach of national security.

The World Association of Newspapers and other groups are concerned about the growing use of national  security and secrecy legislation to prevent pubication of information. Convictions in this case would tarnish the reputation of Denmark and “send very negative signals to other governments, particularly in authoritarian and totalitarian countries, that it is acceptable to punish journalists for publishing information of high public interest that they wish to withhold from their citizens", said WAN CEO Timothy Balding, testifying for the defence.

The Editor-in-Chief of Berlingske Tidende, Niels Lunde, and reporters Jesper Larsen and Michael Bjerre Rasmussen, who face up to two years in jail if convicted, published the stories because of its compelling public interest. Defense attorney Henrik Dahl told the courtroom "A conviction would be an encroachment on the freedom of speech."  

Similar sentiments continue to be shared today by defense witnesses of which include two former foreign ministers, Mogens Lykketoft and Niels Helveg Petersen, Aidan White, the head of the International Federation of Journalists, and Mr Balding, whose testimony can be found here.

The former intelligence officer Frank Grevil was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison last year for leaking the documents to the journalists. Grevil also stated during his trial that he was acting in public interest.  

Source:ABC News through the European Journalism Centre