Too late to unravel the truth?
Italian journalist was shot and nearly killed by a U.S. soldier in Iraq on March 4, 2005, just hours after she was released by Iraqi insurgents who had kidnapped her. Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent who helped negotiate her release, was killed while shielding Sgrena from U.S. gunfire that raked their car as they traveled toward the Baghdad airport.
In 2007, a trial in absentia began in Italy for the U.S. soldier who fired on the car--Spc. Mario Lozano of the U.S. Army's 69th Infantry Regiment. The U.S. refused to hand over Lozano and dismissed all calls from the Italian government for action. The trial was later suspended after a judge ruled that the Italian court didn't have jurisdiction.
In her book Friendly Fire, Sgrena recounted her story of being kidnapped in Iraq, rescued by agents of the Italian government, and then shot by U.S. forces.
Here, she addresses an open letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for justice.
Attn: Secretary of State
Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Washington, D.C.
I BELONG to the group of Italians who hoped for a change in the American administration and welcomed President Barack Obama's election with joy. The end of the Bush age was refreshing for us all, above all for those among us who were accused of being anti-American only because we opposed the political line of one president.
The allegation of being anti-American has resurfaced in these last few days, not toward individuals, but toward the Italian judiciary, in the case of Amanda Knox. I know from personal experience that verdicts are not always just, and in any case, a guilty verdict against a young lady is always a tragedy. But I do not believe that discrediting the Italian justice system in its entirety is a good strategy, especially in light of the forthcoming appeal process.
However, I am not writing to you about this matter. You were ready available to listen to Sen. Maria Cantwell on the Knox case, while I tried, to no avail, to be heard by an American authority (and those who questioned me did not pay any consideration to this matter) about a case that I was personally involved in while in Iraq: the shooting by American soldiers that resulted in the death of Nicola Calipari, an agent of the Italian secret services.
Nobody ever wanted to hear us out because Calipari's death, and the wounds I suffered myself, as well as to another agent, were considered normal in a theater of war like Iraq.
Now, the United States is withdrawing some of its troops from Iraq. U.S. policy toward Iraq has been reviewed, and some mistakes have been acknowledged. It might be too late to unravel the truth about what happened on the night of March 4, 2005, but the possibility of being heard by a person such as yourself would be an important form of compensation for moral damages, not so much for myself, but at least for the Calipari family.
Yours truly,
Giuliana Sgrena
