As
support continues to build for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, as
they fight for their freedom in Perugia Italy, the controversial
prosecutor that secured their convictions continues to abuse his power
in attempt to silence their support. Prosecutor Guiliano Mignini was the
lead prosecutor in the Meredith Kercher murder trial in Perugia Italy,
ending in guilty verdicts for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in late
2009. The trial was highly controversial leaving many throughout the
world to believe that Amanda Knox and Rafaele Sollecito have been
wrongfully convicted. The appeal for both is currently ongoing.
Last
month, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent,
nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the rights of
journalists worldwide, released an open letter to Italy's President,
Giorgio Napolitano, highlighting their concern with the conduct of
Giuliano Mignini during the Meredith Kercher trial. CPJ reports that the
anti-press actions of Mignini and those under his supervision has
caused the press to shy away from reporting on the Meredith Kercher case
including the ongoing appeal trail for Amanda Knox and Raffaele
Sollecito. The open letter highlights the abuse of freelance reporter
Frank Sfarzo, who has been very critical of the case on his blog Perugia
Shock.
You can read more about the open letter, Mignini's conduct, and the harassment of Frank Sfarzo here: http://www.groundreport.com/World/Authorities-Called-Out-For-Harassing-Journalists-i/2938450.
Guiliano
Mignini has shown that he has not been swayed by CPJ's concerns
regarding his past and present behavior, by continuing to press forward
with a defamation lawsuit against Perugia Shock, a blog created and
maintained by Frank Sfarzo. Mignini has repeatedly threatened legal
action in attempt to silence those who disagree with him. Bowing to
pressure, Google recently took Frank's blog offline.
 |
| Investigative reporter Frank Sfarzo, creator of Perugia Shock, June 2009. Photo by Candace Dempsey |
In
a recent interview, Sfarzo told CPJ that he received an email from
Google, which hosts the Perugia Shock blog, informing him that a court
order has been issued for the “preventive closure” of his blog. It was
from that court order that Sfarzo learned that Perugia Prosecutor
Giuliano Mignini has filed a lawsuit against Perugia Shock for
“defamation, carried out by means of a website.” The court order was
issued on February 23, by Florentine Judge Paola Belsino.
Frank
Sfarzo's reporting must not be silenced. Injustice in Perugia has
frequently backed up the Perugia Shock blog because we have long feared
that it would become a target of Mignini. Perugia Shock will be back
online in its entirety very soon. You can view the new blog here: http://www.perugiashock.com.
Frank
Sfarzo is the only reporter that has attended every single court
hearing for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, and the only Italian
reporter providing information to an English speaking audience. Perugia
Shock has provided invaluable first hand information about this case for
over three years. Frank Sfarzo's voice must not be allowed to be
silenced by a corrupt prosecutor hell-bent on destroying anyone who
dares to disagree with him. Enough is enough!
The Committee to Protect Journalists was appalled to see Mignini's latest abuse of power and was quick to respond:
"The
Committee to Protect Journalists authorities calls on Florence and
Perugia to drop the trumped-up defamation lawsuit against Perugia Shock,
an English-language blog created and maintained by Frank Sfarzo, an
Italian freelance journalist and blogger. Sfarzo has endured sustained
harassment in retaliation for his reporting and commentary on the
official investigation into the November 2007 murder of British exchange
student Meredith Kercher."
“We
call on Perugia Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini to drop his defamation
lawsuit against Perugia Shock and allow it to remain online,” CPJ Europe
and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “This is
hardly the first time Mignini has resorted to the law to silence his
critics. It’s a heavy-handed tactic that is bound to have a chilling
effect on journalists in Italy .”
This
story has been a hot topic on blogs that follow the Amanda Knox case.
You would think that other bloggers would come to Frank Sfarzo's
defense, in light of the fact that his blog was taken offline, as this
is clearly a matter of free speech. Instead the anti-Amanda Knox groups
run by New Jersey resident, Peter Quennell and Seattle resident, Peggy
Ganong have taken this opportunity to attack Frank Sfarzo and CPJ. The
true intentions of these groups have been crystal clear in their
reaction to this story. Peggy Ganong speaks adamantly about free speech
when others post on her website, Perugia Murder File, yet she has failed
to stand up and state that it's wrong to silence Frank Sfarzo. Excuses
are being made on her website that Perugia Shock contained defamatory
information so the censorship was warranted. This is a baseless claim
but one that is quite interesting coming from Peggy Ganong whose website
often posts defamatory information about credible writers and
journalists such as Douglas Preston and Candace Dempsey.
Peter
Quennell has used his website, True Justice, to attack the CPJ, an
organization that works tirelessly to protect journalists throughout the
world. Quennell mocks CPJ's Joel Simon accusing him of hiding and
pushing out another "naive" spokesperson. Why should CPJ respond to
Quennell's baseless attacks and why on earth would Joel Simon feel the
need to hide from Peter Quennell? Who does Quennell think he is? In his
most recent rant, Quennell refers to Joel Simon as "Joel Fisher," Maybe
Quennell will come up with another ridiculous theory that Joel and I are
working with Frank Sfarzo and Giuliano Mignini to promote the grand
conspiracy that is brewing in Quennell's head.
Quennell's
website has posted many falsehoods regarding this developing story,
including the falsehood that Frank Sfarzo is an "anonymous Perugian
blogger." Quennell's description of Sfarzo makes absolutely no sense due
to the fact that Sfarzo is well known in Perugia. Quennell even shows
Sfarzo on his website photographed standing next to Giuliano Mignini.
The "anonymous" tag comes from the fact that Frank Sfarzo uses a pen
name on his blog. Peggy Ganong had this to say on her website: "My
guess is that Frank Sfarzo hopes to get some sort of career mileage out
of this. If he held himself to real journalistic standards and reported
under his own name, things might be different." Is it possible that Peter
Quennell and Peggy Ganong honestly feel that using a pen name is
justification for being pressured into silence by the authorities?
Quennell suggests on his website that Sfarzo created this entire drama to bring attention to himself: "NO
WAY that site would be going live if a judge in Florence had said to
shut it down. Or if Frank’s legal troubles were because of it. Or if
Mignini really were gunning for him. It looks like all the Google
Blogger hullaballoo yesterday was to simply set CPJ up for another
anti-Mignini attack, and to add to Frank’s martyrdom and jump his
usually very small audience."
Does
Peter Quennell believe that CPJ is in on his dreamt up grand
conspiracy? Does he believe that Giuliano Mignini is in on it too? Of
course Quennell's theory is complete nonsense. If Quennell took thirty
seconds to do some research he would quickly find out that Frank Sfarzo
is not the one posting the new Perugia Shock blog and he would also see
that the court order against Frank Sfarzo is very real and currently
viewable online. You can view the court order here: http://blog.seattlepi.com/dempsey/2011/05/13/sweden-rescues-italian-amanda-knox-blog-google-are-you-watching-2/
If
Quennell's egregious accusation that Sfarzo pulled off a publicity
stunt, and was never actually harassed, wasn't enough, Quennell also
accused Frank of being sexually attracted to Amanda Knox: "Frank. Up
to mid 2008 Frank was humanely pro Meredith and sensibly pro guilt. Then
he turned on a dime and developed a noticeable lust for Knox."
When
is Quennell going to realize that everything in life does not revolve
around sex? I would think Quennell's recent shortcomings would cause him
to refrain from this type of speech. I guess it's true that old dogs
never learn.
The
attacks coming from Quennell and Ganong against Frank Sfarzo are very
telling. I would ask anyone who looks to their websites for information
on the Amanda Knox case to ask themselves, what kind of person would
condone the harassment of a journalist or a blogger, no matter what side
of this debate he or she stands on?
Frank
Sfarzo deserves the support of anyone who believes in the right to free
speech. Those currently fighting so hard against him need to stop and
think about what they are actually fighting for.
