(RSF/IFEX) – On 20 August 2002, RSF protested anti-terrorist police (DIGOS) officers’ 19 August searches at the homes of two journalists, Fiorenza Sarzanini, of the national daily “Corriere della Sera”, and Mario Menghetti, of the national daily “Il Messaggero”. The searches followed both national dailies’ publication of articles about the violence at the G8 summit […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 20 August 2002, RSF protested anti-terrorist police (DIGOS) officers’ 19 August searches at the homes of two journalists, Fiorenza Sarzanini, of the national daily “Corriere della Sera”, and Mario Menghetti, of the national daily “Il Messaggero”. The searches followed both national dailies’ publication of articles about the violence at the G8 summit in Genoa in the summer of 2001 that were apparently based on a leaked police report.
“The frequency with which the authorities have violated the confidentiality of journalistic sources in the past few months is disturbing,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said in a letter to Justice Minister Roberto Castelli. “These methods have been used at least five times against investigative journalists in 2002,” Ménard noted.
“We must remind you that the principle of the protection of journalistic sources is one of the essential conditions of press freedom, and democratic states respect this right,” Ménard continued. “We must also remind you that the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights monitor respect for this principle by member states and we ask you to ensure that the Italian judiciary does not violate it,” the secretary-general added.
The 19 August searches at the homes of Sarzanini and Menghetti by Rome’s anti-terrorist squad were carried out on the orders of the Genoa Prosecutor’s Office. In their 5 August articles, the two journalists are suspected of having cited a secret carabinieri report which focused on Carlo Giuliani, a young demonstrator who was killed by a member of the carabinieri. The anti-terrorist squad was looking for documents that could help identify the source of the leak.
On 3 May, RSF protested the search carried out at the home of reporter Guido Ruotolo, of the daily “La Stampa”. He was suspected of having published information that violated the secrecy of a judicial investigation into an Islamic network. In early March, the homes of two journalists, Claudia Fusani of “La Repubblica” and Sarzanini, were searched for the same reason.
