H.E. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
President
Palazzo del Quirinale
00187 Rome
Italy
Fax: (011.39.6.) 46 99 2384
Your Excellency:
On this day, World Press Freedom Day, there are — to the best of our knowledge — 193 journalists imprisoned in the jails of 29 countries, most of them solely for having done their jobs. We are amazed to find Italy on that list because of the continued imprisonment of Massimiliano Melilli.
As you probably know, Melilli has been jailed since February, 2004. Formerly with the weekly, Il Meridiano , Melilli was charged with defamation and sentenced to 18 months in jail and a 100,000-euro fine for articles published in 1996. The articles reviewed rumors of ?erotic parties? said to have been attended by high society in Trieste.
So-called ?insult laws? of the sort under which Melilli was convicted, seem to us an anachronism in an open society like Italy. It has been often been noted that the most common use of criminal libel law around the world is to shield authorities from press scrutiny. We note, for example, that principal focus of Melilli@quot;s article in Il Meridiano was the wife of a former mayor, although she was not named. In the suit she initiated against Melilli, the journalist was accused of mis-stating her remarks. Without taking a position on the justice of her contention, we note that civil penalties for libel are well established in Italian law.
As a member of the United Nations, you must certainly be familiar with the UN@quot;s Declaration of Human Rights, article 19 of which states: ?Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.?
The Overseas Press Club of America, an independent organization that has defended press freedom around the world for more than 65 years, urges you to re-think your policy, to strengthen your country by welcoming freedom of ideas and opinions, and to release the 41 journalists held in prison.
We will appreciate learning of your positive actions on behalf of our colleague, Mr. Melilli, and would welcome your reply to this letter of appeal. Thank you.
Respectfully yours,
Kevin McDermott
Norman A. Schorr
Freedom of the Press Committee