Appello da Douglas Preston

Ricevo e pubblico l'appello che lo scrittore Douglas Preston sta diffondendo in queste ore in America - se ci sono problemi per via dell'inglese, fatemi sapere e traduco:

My dear colleagues,

Today, the police came and arrested Mario Spezi, my close friend and 
writing partner. They lured him outside his apartment in Florence 
with a false story and manhandled him into a car. I spoke to his 
wife, Myriam, and she says the police refused to show an arrest 
warrant and refused to let Spezi call his lawyer. It later turned out 
the arrest had been ordered by "Gides," a special police unit led by 
Michele Giuttari. Spezi was taken to Gides headquarters for 
questioning and, as far as I know, was then taken to Perugia and 
imprisoned.

The accusations against Spezi, according to press accounts, are 
slander and defamation, disturbing the public order, and obstructing 
a criminal investigation. He was, essentially, arrested for doing his 
job as a journalist. One news report says that he is also being 
charged with an unsolved murder that occurred thirty-one years ago -- 
an utterly absurd charge.

Spezi's and my book, DOLCI COLLINE DI SANGUE, is slated to be 
released in Italy by RCS Libri on April 19. The book criticizes 
Michele Giuttari as well as the Pubblico Ministero of Perugia, 
Giuliano Mignini, who is in charge of the investigation Spezi is now 
accused of obstructing. As many of you know, I was taken into custody 
last month in Italy by detectives from Giuttari’s unit, and 
interrogated for hours by Mignini about our journalistic activities 
related to the book. In the end I was slapped with an “avviso di 
garanzia” for perjury and allowed to return home.

It is no coincidence that this arrest comes just twelve days before 
the release of our book.

As of this writing, the U.S. State Department has asked Judge Mignini 
to clarify my legal standing in Italy, and, as I understand it, to 
explain on what grounds I was taken in for questioning and charged 
with perjury. But what happened to me is nothing: Mario has taken the 
full force of this astonishing abuse of power and his freedom as a 
journalist and a human being hangs in the balance.

I ask all of you, please, for the love of truth and freedom of the 
press, come to Spezi’s aid. This should not be happening in the 
beautiful and civilized country that I love, the country that gave 
the world Galileo and the Renaissance. Many of you belong to 
organizations such as PEN or other writer’s organizations that could 
bring pressure to bear. Others of you have blogs that could spread 
the news.

Letters (always respectful in tone) should be addressed to:

Roberto Castelli
Il Ministro della Giustizia
Via Arenula, 70
00186 Roma
Italy

Giuseppe Pisanu
Il Ministro dell’Interno
Piazzale Viminale
00184 Roma
Italy

Italians care a great deal what Americans think. I have seen early 
press reports in Italy and much of it is filled with dismay at this 
treatment of one of Italy's most respected journalists. This is not 
"business as usual" in Italy and it can be reversed, if we make a big 
enough noise.

Thank you so much for your previous support, and I am deeply grateful 
for anything you can do.

Doug