Freedom of Expression
Press Release 114/04
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression concerned about possible prison sentence for American journalist for refusing to reveal source
Washington, D.C., December 8, 2004. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is concerned about the possibility that journalist Jim Taricani will be sentenced to up to six months in prison at a hearing scheduled for tomorrow, December 9. Mr. Taricani, a journalist with WJAR, an NBC-affiliated television station in Providence, Rhode Island, had been convicted of criminal contempt on November 18 for refusing to identify his confidential information source.
In March 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres held Mr. Taricani in civil contempt after he refused to reveal the identity of the person who gave him an FBI videotape, which was under a protective order prohibiting its disclosure as part of a federal investigation into government corruption. Considering Mr. Taricani’s continued refusal to reveal the source, Judge Torres decided to initiate the criminal contempt proceedings on November 4, which led to Taricani’s conviction. After Mr. Taricani's conviction, Joseph Bevilacqua Jr, a lawyer in Providence, R.I., came forward to say he was the source of the F.B.I. videotape; however, it is unclear if this revelation will have any effect on Mr. Taricani's sentence.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur recalls that freedom of expression is understood to encompass journalists’ right to keep their sources confidential. This is reflected in Principle 8 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, which states, "Every social communicator has the right to keep his/her source of information, notes, personal and professional archives confidential."
The main foundation of the right to confidentiality is that within the scope of their work, and in order to provide the public with the information needed to satisfy the right to information, journalists are performing an important public service when collecting and disseminating information that would not be divulged were the confidentiality of sources not protected. This right to confidentiality involves providing legal guarantees to sources to ensure their anonymity and to avoid possible reprisals against them for divulging certain information to the press. Confidentiality, therefore, is essential to journalists' work, and to the role that society has conferred upon them to report on matters of public interest.
Given the importance of the right to confidentiality, the Office of the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the criminal conviction and sentencing of Jim Taricani could set a troubling precedent for other cases. If the practice of trying journalists for criminal contempt for refusing to identify sources is consolidated, it would constitute a threat to freedom of the press in the U.S.