Con motivo del encarcelamiento de la periodista Judith Miller por no revelar sus fuentes en una causa judicial por la identificación de un agente secreto de la CIA, Fopea expresó su preocupación al máximo tribunal de justicia de EEUU.
Buenos Aires, July 27th, 2005
Your Excellencies
Members of
Supreme Court of Justice of
The United States of America
Your Excellencies
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), is an argentine Non-Government Organization created to promote improvement on professional and ethical skills among journalists, a work which includes the defense of press freedom.
We, its members, are editors, columnists at newspapers, and radio and television stations, who are not committed to specific economic or political interests and who represent a clear variety of viewpoints.
FOPEA is not associated with media-owner organizations or with press labor unions, although we maintain contact with these organizations.
FOPEA strongly condemns the decision of jailing New York Times journalist Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper on contempt of court charges.
A recent decision ordered these journalists to be jailed for not revealing the identity of confidential sources before a grand jury that is probing the leak of a CIA operative's name.
Although Miller never wrote, nor did the New York Times published, an article about that operative, she is one of five journalists who have been subpoenaed and questioned throughout this investigation. The charges against Cooper were discontinued in August 2004 after he revealed information about his conversations with a single anonymous source.
FOPEA believes Millers imprisonment to be a worrying threat to freedom of expression. The right of journalists to maintain their sources confidential is a central tenet of their profession, without which reporters would be unable to encourage individuals to come forward and speak on matters of public interest.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has stated in the eighth comment of its Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression that every social communicator has the right to keep his/her source of information, notes, personal and professional archives confidential.
As also the International Press Institute has stated, prison punishment is part of decisions which undermine the ability of journalists to practice their profession, setting a disturbing example to countries around the world that it is legitimate for governments to coerce journalists into cooperating with their investigations.
As you know, US Supreme Court decisions have set valuable examples of freedom protection, observed by legislation and courts in countries around the world, Argentina among them. We respectfully ask you to do everything in your power to ensure the continuity of those model decisions in the case involving Miller and Cooper, as a confirmation that they, as well as other journalists in the U.S., are allowed to practice their work without fear of punishment, but according to freedom and professional ethics.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Santoro, President
Mabel Moralejo, Executive Director