Fortunately, journalists and bloggers in the U S who defend Amanda Knox get little more than insulted with maybe a little name calling on the side by those disillusioned enough to think she's guilty. We in the U S are protected and empowered with 'freedom of speech' ....yet not everyone has it so good as we Americans. It seems that in Italy defending Amanda Knox can be a rather dangerous thing to do, well, at least in Perugia anyway. Seems the police and prosecutor in Perugia get more than a little cranky with people who disagree with them- particularly if it concerns Amanda Knox. Blogger Frank Sfarzo has had more than his share of trouble defending Amanda, but then, he actually lives in Perugia so he is therefore a highly visible target and easy prey for those cranky cops- a la Mignini. I have often wondered how he actually pulls off defending Amanda without serious harassment, considering his geographical location in Italy.
Well, as CBS has reported, Frank has been harassed big-time, including being beaten and arrested for his involvement with the Amanda Knox case. Kind of reminds me of prosecutor Mignini trying to put the screws to American author Douglas Preston for having an opinion not to Mignini's liking. Fortunately, Preston left Italy before it could get ugly, yet people like Sfarzo don't really have that option. Hopefully with all the recent news going round about how the Squadra Mobile police set up Frank Sfarzo, someone with power in Italy will do something about the harassment of journalists in Italy who defend Amanda Knox. Over here in the U S we have it easy compared with those in Perugia who live their lives looking over their shoulder.
The really sad part of all this is that many Italian journalists have simply stopped reporting about the Amanda Knox case for fear of Mignini and company. Actually, there is really very little to report at present other than the prosecution's case against Knox is crumbling fast. Soon it will be over and Knox will at last go free. But will the abuse of journalists in Italy stop once the Amanda Knox case is over? Unfortunately I think the abuse will go on. Pressuring journalists in Italy did not start with the Amanda Knox case, and will probably continue as long as people like Mignini hold power. I do believe however, that it was the Amanda Knox case that put the light on the evil and corruption that exists in some areas of the Italian legal system- in Perugia in particular. In all fairness though, it is not the system itself but rather a few corrupt individuals in powerful positions who are at fault. Everyone knows who they are yet is anyone going to do anything about it? This is more than just an Italian problem when an innocent American girl has been sitting in prison for over three years. Yet it is because of this injustice that the world is now watching, and I think that makes some people in Italy damn uncomfortable.
