Visit Amanda Knox in Perugia’s Capanne jail

A delegation of the Italy-USA Foundation lead by the Hon. Rocco Girlanda, President of the Foundation, visited Amanda Knox in Perugia’s Capanne jail. Below is a summary of Hon. Girlanda’s public statement on the event. In the photo below are Patricia Thomas of Associated Press and Hon. Rocco Girlanda.

We met Amanda Knox in her jail cell in Perugia to examine the conditions of her prison. The meeting was prompted by the strength of the impact that this case has made in the United States, enough of an impact to interest numerous American Institutions and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As president of the Italy-USA Foundation, I believed this meeting was necessary to bridge the gaps that this dramatic media case is making between our two countries. We have historically always been tied by an unbreakable bond of friendship, a bond that will not be damaged or compromised by a ‘black media’.

This visit to Amanda Knox did not involve any discussion regarding the progress and procedural issues occurring in any of our trial courts, as such issues cannot and should not enter into the meetings between officers of parliament and inmates, as specified by prison rules.

I believe, moreover, that the application of anti-Americanism, as used by American Senator Maria Cantwell, is out of place and easily exploited in this case. In my opinion, it would be better to avoid creating controversies or making accusations of the state, that go completely beyond the scope of the statements made by the concerned parties and their respective governments.