A composer who unsuccessfully sued the Evening Standard over comments they made about one of his operas is facing bankruptcy as he struggles to pay the paper's legal fees relating to the case.
Keith Burstein sued the paper after they said a performance of his opera 'Manifest Destiny' at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival made suicide bombers appear heroic, and that he was sympathetic to them. Burstein sued for libel, but the paper successfully defended itself, saying its remarks "constituted fair comment". It initially looked like the case would go before a jury, but a judge ruled that unnecessary - an opinion Burstein takes issue with.
The composer was ordered to pay the paper's £67,000 legal fees. He is struggling to do so, which is why the paper have moved to launch bankruptcy proceedings against him. Burstein had hoped to delay said proceedings by arguing he should be allowed to take the case to the European courts before being forced to pay the Standard's legal fees, but the registrar in the UK courts - who rules on such matters - has said the European case is irrelevant and the composer should pay up or face bankruptcy.
The composer told the Guardian "I regard this as a travesty of justice" but that added he is "even more spurred on" to take the case further. Explaining what would have to be done in the European case, he continued: "I would have to prove that the UK government breached my human rights to have a fair trial. It will be a few months before we know if my case is even admissible to the court and then a further year before any case is heard. We are looking at a potential one to two years in Europe".