(RSF/IFEX) – More and more people in Italy are demonstrating their support for calls for the release of “La Repubblica” journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, whose kidnappers issued a second message with demands on 10 March 2007. Ala al-din al-Ghoobashi, the imam of the Rome mosque, the Pakistani community in Italy, and entertainment and sports personalities such […]
(RSF/IFEX) – More and more people in Italy are demonstrating their support for calls for the release of “La Repubblica” journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, whose kidnappers issued a second message with demands on 10 March 2007.
Ala al-din al-Ghoobashi, the imam of the Rome mosque, the Pakistani community in Italy, and entertainment and sports personalities such as football start Francesco Totti and Nobel literature laureate Dario Fo, are among those who have appealed for his release.
More than 47,000 people have already signed the petition issued by “La Repubblica”‘s staff:
http://www.repubblica.it/speciale/2007/appelli/mastrogiacomo/
In Afghanistan, the Italian ambassador held a news conference in which he called for Mastrogiacomo’s release. Italian journalists working in Afghanistan issued a statement saying he should be freed and stressing that he had just been doing his job, which is to report the news.
Meanwhile, a new audio message believed to have come from Mullah Dadullah, the head of the Taliban group that kidnapped Mastrogiacomo, contained a threat to kill him within seven days if the Italian government did not set a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan. It came just days after the lower house of the Italian parliament voted on 8 March to keep 2,000 soldiers in the country.
The Taliban are also calling for the release of two Taliban leaders, Abdul Latif Hakimi, who has been held in Pakistan for nearly a year and half, and Mohammad Hanif, who was arrested in Afghanistan in January. The Taliban spokesman said the authorities have until 16 March to comply.
The Italian authorities have called on the kidnappers to produce proof that Mastrogiacomo is still alive. The government has also called on the media not to disseminate any reports that have not been confirmed on the grounds that this could jeopardise future negotiations.
