Eduardo Kimel Cronologia del Caso Kimel en castellano Movimiento de Defensa de Eduardo Kimel (Castellano/English) Eduardo Kimel is a freelance journalist born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,  who has courageously taken the blunt of the incongruent behavior of the Argentine Justice during its shameful handling of the massacre of the five Palotine martyrs.     His Book, "The Massacre at St. Patrick's" Eduardo Kimel's book was published by Editorial Liberarte in 1989, with an initial run of only 2,000.  The publishing company gave him that year's literary prize for "best investigative journalism."   Kimel had started investigating three years earlier, after a colleague suggested to him the topic.  Although he had never dealt with Catholic or religious issues, he found the story of the massacre of five religious men in a conservative suburb of Buenos Aires very intriguing.  His initial research was supported entirely by Father Kevin O'Neill.  Kimel also had access to the results of the judicial process, which had been carried out by two Federal Judges over many years.  As you can read below, he criticized Judge Rivarola's decisions while he was handling the case under the military dictatorship's watch.  This earned Kimel a libel suit.  The new edition of the book appeared under Editorial Lohle-Lumen for the 20th anniversary of the masscre in July 1996 (left photo). The Process Against Kimel On April 8, 1999, journalist Eduardo Kimel was given a one year suspended prison sentence for defamation and fined US$ 20,000 by the IV Court of the National Appeals Chamber in Criminal and Correctional Matters as a result of statements made in his book, "La Masacre de San Patricio" (The San Patricio Massacre). Kimel’s book tells the story of the July 4, 1976, assassination of three priests and two seminary students of the Palotine Order in Buenos Aires by one of the "task groups" in charge of illegal repression during the last military dictatorship. The charges against Kimel were filed by Guillermo Rivarola – the judge responsible for carrying out the judicial investigation into the murders – who was offended by passages in the book in which the journalist criticised the judge’s handling of the case. In his book, Kimel wrote that "Judge Rivarola fulfilled the majority of the official requirements of the investigation. However, it is evident that a series of decisive factors that could have shed light on the assassination were not taken into account. Evidence that the source of the order to commit the crime had come from the innermost core of military power paralysed the inquiry, bringing it to a standstill." The IV Court's verdict, which noted that "the book is marked by a harsh blanket critique of the judges who were then members of the judicial power, and especially against the defendant Rivarola," overruled a previous one by the judges of the VI Court of the same Chamber, who had considered that Kimel "exercised his right to report in a non-abusive and legitimate way with no intention to damage Rivarola’s honour." The new verdict was condemned by press organisations in Argentina and around the world. Periodistas called it a "disgraceful sentence" aimed at punishing "the independent press’s efforts to rescue from forgetfulness and impunity one of the many atrocities committed by the last military dictatorship." http://www.freemedia.at/archive97/argentin.htm Current Situation In the spring of 1999, a court gave journalist Eduardo Kimel a year's prison sentence (suspended) and imposed a fine of $20,000 (20,000 pesos) for comments made in a book titled "La Masacre de San Patricio." On April 16, the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression issued a statement criticizing this ruling as an infringement on freedom of expression. http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/argentin.html Eduardo Kimel and his lawyer appealed the sentece to the Supreme Court, which was confirmed in November of 2000.  Now, Kimel and most journalists' associations, Human Rights organizations and even government entities are bringing his case forward to the OEA (Organizacion de Estados Americanos), the highest forum in the Americas to condemn the irrational application of the law to a true defender of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression. International Support Please access the EDUARDO KIMEL INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE MOVEMENT page to lend your support to his cause.  You can include your personal comments and also offer your monetary contributions to his legal defense fund.  All submissions related to contributions are forwarded directly to Eduardo Kimel in Argentina.  Thank you.

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