8/13/2019 Carta de FOPEA a La Corte de EEUU

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/carta-de-fopea-a-la-corte-de-eeuu 1/2

 

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-GovernmentOrganization 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 televisionstations, 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 JudithMiller and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper on contempt of court charges.

A recent decision ordered these journalists to be jailed for not revealing the identityof confidential sources before a grand jury that is probing the leak of a CIAoperative's name.

Although Miller never wrote, nor did the New York Times published, an article aboutthat operative, she is one of five journalists who have been subpoenaed andquestioned throughout this investigation. The charges against Cooper werediscontinued in August 2004 after he revealed information about his conversations

with a single anonymous source.

FOPEA believes Miller s imprisonment to be a worrying threat to freedom ofexpression. The right of journalists to maintain their sources confidential is a centraltenet 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,

8/13/2019 Carta de FOPEA a La Corte de EEUU

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/carta-de-fopea-a-la-corte-de-eeuu 2/2

 

setting a disturbing example to countries around the world that it is legitimate forgovernments to coerce journalists into cooperating with their investigations.

As you know, US Supreme Court decisions have set valuable examples of freedomprotection, observed by legislation and courts in countries around the world,Argentina among them. We respectfully ask you to do everything in your power toensure 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., areallowed to practice their work without fear of punishment, but according to freedomand professional ethics.

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Santoro, President

Mabel Moralejo, Executive Director