HRH King Juan Carlos I
Head of State
Office of the King
Palacio de la Zarzuela
Madrid 28071
Kingdom of Spain
Fax: (011.34.91) 599.2416
Your Majesty:
The Overseas Press Club of America joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in strongly condemning a recent court verdict against two Spanish journalists. They are Daniel Anido, director of the private radio, Cadena SER, and Rodolfo Irago, Cadena’s news director.
The two journalists, who had been charged with revealing secrets, have been sentenced to suspended jail terms of two years and nine months, respectively. Furthermore, they have been banned from working as journalists for the same periods of time. In addition, they face bills running into thousands of euros covering compensation costs.
We join IFJ in pointing out that “what makes the case even more worrying is that the court has not questioned the truth of the report at the centre of the hearing but has made its finding the belief that Internet journalism is not entitled to the same protection as that published through traditional media.”
We live in a modern age in which journalists use an ever-increasing number of media and technologies to report news and keep the public informed. The Internet news sites of newspapers, radio stations and TV networks must enjoy the same freedom of speech and expression protections that are provided to these entities in their traditional media.
We urge the government of Spain to take whatever actions are necessary to reverse Magistrate Ricardo Rodriguez Fernandez’s decision. That should begin with the enactment of clear laws affirming freedom of the press in Spain in every medium in which journalists communicate.
Respectfully yours,
Norman A. Schorr
Kevin McDermott
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee
cc:
H.E. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Complejo de la Moncloa
Avenida Puerte de Hierro, S/N
Madrid 28071
Kingdom of Spain
Fax: (011.34.91) 321.4150
H.E. Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo
Ambassador of Spain to the U.S.A.
Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Fax: (202) 833.5670
Ambassador Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo Garcia
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Spain
to the United Nations
245 East 47th Street, 36th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 949.7247
H.E. Alan D. Solomont
U.S. Ambassador to Spain
Embassy of the United States of America
Serrano 75
28006 Madrid
Spain
Fax: (011.34.91) 587.2303
International Federation of Journalists
International Press Centre
Residence Palace
Bloc C, 2nd Floor
Rue de la Loi, 155
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Fax: (011.32.2) 235.2219