COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS 330 7th Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465-1004 Fax: (212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail:
[email protected] HONORARY CO-CHAIRMAN Walter Cronkite (1916–2009) HONORARY CO-CHAIRMAN April 19, 2011 Terry Anderson CHAIRMAN Paul E. Steiger His Excellency Giorgio Napolitano PROPUBLICA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR President of the Italian Republic Joel Simon DIRECTORS Palazzo del Quirinale Andrew Alexander Franz Allina 00187 Roma Christiane Amanpour ABC NEWS Italia Dean Baquet THE NEW YORK TIMES Kathleen Carroll THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Via email:
[email protected] Rajiv Chandrasekaran THE WASHINGTON POST Sheila Coronel COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Dear President Napolitano, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM Josh Friedman COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonpartisan organization Anne Garrels NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO dedicated to defending the rights of journalists worldwide, is deeply concerned about James C. Goodale DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON local authorities’ harassment of journalists and media outlets who criticize the official Cheryl Gould NBC NEWS investigation into the November 2007 brutal murder of British exchange student Charlayne Hunter-Gault Gwen Ifill Meredith Kercher in the central Italian city of Perugia. CPJ is particularly troubled by PBS Jane Kramer the manifest intolerance to criticism displayed by Perugia Public Prosecutor Giuliano THE NEW YORKER David Laventhol Mignini, who has filed or threatened to file criminal lawsuits against individual Lara Logan CBS NEWS reporters, writers, and press outlets, both in Italy and the United States, in connection Rebecca MacKinnon David Marash with the Kercher murder investigation as well as the investigation into the Monster of Kati Marton Michael Massing Florence serial killings.