HRH King Juan Carlos I, Head of State,
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,
and Head of Supreme Council of Defense
Office of the King
Palacio de la Zarzuela
Madrid 28071
Kingdom of Spain
Fax: (011.34.1) 599-2416
Your Majesty:
We write to protest your country@quot;s part in the continuing worldwide abuse of press freedom.
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. Spain is one of the 29, and we are informed that you have in custody Iñaki Uria, one of the founders of Egunkaria , the daily newspaper in the Basque language.
Uria has been successively vice-editor, editor, and managing director and chairman of the paper@quot;s Board of Directors since it was launched in 1990. He was one of ten staff members arrested in the middle of the night on February 20, 2003, under anti-terrorism laws and held in ?unconditional detention? in Real Soto prison. Uria is the only one of the journalists still being held. The Basque newspaper is accused of being financed and directed by ETA, the Basque separatist organization. International PEN reports that there has been widespread condemnation of these charges as having no foundation.
Your Majesty, Iñaki Uria should be released both on principle and as a matter of expediency.
The principle is simple, as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “”Everyone,? according to the Declaration, ?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.”” U.N. members recognize that this right is sometimes inconvenient and troublesome. Yet, it is crucial to uphold, and for practical reasons: A nation that stifles freedom of thought and expression forfeits the good opinion of the world and isolates itself. This may prompt political or economic sanctions, with loss of diplomatic influence and domestic prosperity; at the least, it relegates a country to the company of North Korea, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, or Zimbabwe. And in long or short order, a repressive regime will be overturned.
The Overseas Press Club of America, an independent organization that has defended press freedom around the world for 65 years, recognizes that the war against terrorism requires stern measures. But as we have tried to remind our own government, it does not justify the violation of basic human rights, including press freedom. We urge you to re-think your policy, to welcome free expression of ideas and opinions, and to release Iñaki Uria.
The courtesy of a reply would be appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Martz
Norman A. Schorr
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee