Journalist Giuliana Sgrena To Tour United States

JOURNALIST HELD HOSTAGE IN IRAQ
TO TOUR UNITED STATES

U.S. Government to be Tried In-Abstentia in Italy for Case of Shooting Death by U.S. Soldiers of Sgrena’s Rescuer

Sgrena to be in New York March 14-16

March 13, 2007, New York, NY-- On February 4, 2005, while reporting in Iraq for the Italian daily newspaper Il Manifesto, leading Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was kidnapped by a group of Iraqis and held hostage for one month. On the day of her release, as she was being escorted to Baghdad International Airport by Italian security, U.S. forces fired on her vehicle. The attack killed Major General Nicola Calipari, the number two man in Italian military intelligence, as he shielded Sgrena.

The journalist detailed her ordeal for the first time in her acclaimed book Friendly Fire (Haymarket Books, 2006) in which she charges that the U.S. Department of Defense has engaged in a cover-up in its investigation of the incident and that their continued presence in Iraq does more harm than good. As the Italian government begins a phased withdrawal of its troops out of Iraq, Sgrena’s continues to speak out widely around the world for the immediate withdrawal from Iraq of U.S troops. Sgrena will be in New York City from March 14th-16th.

The Italian government has charged, Mario Lozano, the soldier who shot at her vehicle with voluntary manslaughter. He will be tried on April 17th, 2007. Sgrena is demanding that the Pentagon be tried for the shooting - and not the actions of an individual soldier.

An expert on the Arab world, Sgrena has reported frequently from Afghanistan and Iraq, for which the president of Italy awarded her the prestigious Cavaliere del Lavoro Prize. Sgrena’s expertise offers an unflinching look into the insurgency movement in Iraq as well as unique insights into the situation in Iraq.

Wednesday, March 14
7 pm
Judson Church
55 Washington Square South
New York, NY
http://www.judson.org/

Subway: A, C, E, F, B, V to West 4th Street station; R to 8th Street-NYU; or 1 to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square.

Sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Haymarket Books

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