(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 2 August 2001 letter to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, CPJ strongly condemned the brutal attacks by police officers and demonstrators on journalists covering the Group of Eight (G-8) summit of the world’s industrialised nations in Genoa from 20 to 22 July. CPJ is also gravely concerned that official Italian orders compelling […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 2 August 2001 letter to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, CPJ strongly condemned the brutal attacks by police officers and demonstrators on journalists covering the Group of Eight (G-8) summit of the world’s industrialised nations in Genoa from 20 to 22 July.
CPJ is also gravely concerned that official Italian orders compelling media outlets to turn over photographs and audio/video tapes of the violence will further jeopardise the safety of journalists and the integrity of the profession by forcing them to act as police informants.
According to international press reports and CPJ’s own research, police officers were responsible for the greatest number of attacks on journalists covering the anti-globalisation protests during the summit. Police officers beat a number of journalists on 20 July:
– Sam Cole, a Rome-based producer for The Associated Press (AP) Television News, was clubbed and suffered a head injury;
– Timothy Fadek of the GAMMA Press photo agency was flung to the ground and beaten extensively, AP reported;
– An AP Biscom news agency journalist, whose name has not been disclosed, was beaten even after he showed officers his press credentials and identified himself as a member of the press.
CPJ continues to investigate a number of reported attacks on Italian journalists that have surfaced in the European press.
At around midnight (local time) on 21 July, police raided two buildings occupied by the Genoa Social Forum, an umbrella group of anti-globalisation organisations. The Independent Media Center (IMC – ), which helped many independent journalists file stories about the demonstrations, was based in one of the buildings. The police, who were allegedly seeking violent demonstrators, ransacked the IMC and searched the premises for film and photographs, Agence France-Press (AFP) reported.
Along with numerous activists, Italian police beat several independent journalists and IMC members who were in the buildings at the time of the raid. Michael Gieser, a Belgian journalist, suffered facial cuts when he was beaten as he lay on the ground, and Philipp Stein, IMC member and journalist from Berlin, was struck when he implored officers to stop the violence, according to AFP.
Violent demonstrators were also responsible for a number of assaults on journalists during the summit, according to international press reports. On 20 July, for example, Jérome Delay, a Paris-based photographer for AP, sustained a fractured rib when a demonstrator struck him with a metal bar. On 21 July, a group of militant anarchists attacked journalists and television crews from Germany and Japan, the London-based “Independent” reported.
CPJ has also received troubling reports that police officers masqueraded as journalists during the summit, thereby endangering all journalists. CPJ strongly encourages a thorough investigation into these allegations.
Initially, Prime Minister Berlusconi dismissed domestic and international calls for investigations into the incidents. But on Monday 30 July, the Italian government agreed to open a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of police misconduct. In addition, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has received confirmation “at the highest level” that the Genoa Public Prosecutor will investigate allegations of police brutality, according to “The Times of London”.
The Interior Ministry also opened an internal investigation, consisting of three parts: allegations of police brutality during the protests; the raid on the Genoa Social Forum; and alleged abuses in the detention cells of the Bolzaneto police station.
CPJ remains very concerned that Italian authorities have not specifically addressed reports of police brutality against journalists.
Moreover, CPJ is troubled that prosecutors have ordered media outlets to turn over photographs and audio/video tapes of the Genoa street violence. Reuters, AP, AFP, and Italy’s RAI state television network have all received such orders during the last ten days, Reuters reported.
Italian law, which allows prosecutors to issue such mandates, does not allow for appeals to the judiciary and imposes stiff penalties on journalists who do not comply. By forcing journalists to act as police informants, the law severely jeopardizes journalists’ safety and credibility.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
– expressing concern at the arbitrary and brutal treatment of journalists covering the Genoa summit
– expressing concern that official orders compelling media outlets to turn over photographs and audio/video tapes of the violence will further jeopardise the safety of journalists and the integrity of the profession by forcing them to act as police informants
– calling on him to ensure that any demonstrators and police officers found to have attacked journalists are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Prezidensa del Consiglio dei Ministri
Palazzo Chigi
Piazza Colonna, 370
00187 Rome, Italy
Fax: +39 06 6798648
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
For further information, contact Alex Lupis at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004 x 101, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: europe@cpj.org, alupis@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
