Giuliana Sgrena, Author of "Friendly Fire" Speaking in LA March 19th

Giuliana Sgrena's Book Tour Comes to LA:

FRIENDLY FIRE An Independent Journalist's Story of
Being Abducted in Iraq, Rescued, and Shot by U.S. Forces

Italian journalist and author Giuliana Sgrena to speak
with Helga Aguayo, wife of war resister Agustín Aguayo
and author/editor Anthony Arnove

WHEN: Monday, March 19th at 7 pm

WHERE: Immanuel Presbyterian Church
3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

WHO: GIULINA SGRENA, will be speaking and signing her new book
FRIENDLY FIRE.

"The story of [Sgrena's] abduction and liberation depicts but one in a
series of risks she has taken to bring to her readers the stories that go
untold, of people threatened by war and conflict. Against enormous odds,
Giuliana Sgrena is a survivor - she understands in the most personal way the
fear, suffering, and courage of the victims and survivors who she covers.
Sgrena has risked her life to bring us these stories. Listen to her
message." -- Amy Goodman, Host of Democracy Now!

While reporting the effects on civilians of the U.S. bombing campaign in
Falluja, Giuliana Sgrena was taken hostage in Iraq on February 4, 2005, and
held for one month. On the day of her release, as she was being escorted to
Baghdad Airport by Italian security, U.S. forces fired on her vehicle,
killing Major General Nicola Calipari, as he shielded Sgrena.

Mario Lozano, the soldier who shot at her vehicle, will be placed on trial
April 17th for voluntary manslaughter. Giuliana Sgrena demands that the
Pentagon be held responsible for the shooting_a product of the U.S.
occupation of Iraq, and not the actions of an individual soldier.

HELGA AGUAYO,

wife of war resister Agustín Aguayo
Agustín Aguayo is a conscientious objector facing up to seven years in
prison for refusing to deploy on a second tour to Iraq. A portion of the
proceeds from this event will be donated to the Aguayo family to help with
legal expenses. See www.aguayodefense.org for more information.

ANTHONY ARNOVE,

editor and author with Howard Zinn, of Voices of a People’s
History of the United States (Seven Stories). He is also editor of Iraq
Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War (South End/Pluto) and a
collection of interviews with Howard Zinn, Terrorism and War (Seven
Stories). Anthony has written for Z Magazine, The Nation, In These Times,
and is on the board of directors of Haymarket Books, the publishers of
FRIENDLY FIRE, and is active in the National Writers Union and International
Socialist Organization.

MORE About Sgrena's book FRIENDLY FIRE An Independent Journalist's Story of
Being Abducted in Iraq, Rescued, and Shot by U.S. Forces:

The book will be on-sale at the event and
author Giuliana Sgrena will be available to sign your copy.

An expert on the Arab world, Sgrena has reported frequently from Afghanistan
and Iraq, for which the president of Italy awarded her the prestigious
Cavaliere del Lavoro prize. In her book Friendly Fire: The Remarkable Story
of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq, Rescued by an Italian Secret Service
Agent, and Shot by U.S. Forces (Haymarket 2006), Sgrena describes her
experience as a hostage and provides unique insights into the situation of
Iraq under occupation, exposing U.S. war crimes there.

The event is co-sponsored by: African-Americans Against the War, CODEPINK,
Iraq Veterans Against the War, International Socialist Organization, KPFK,
Mexican-American Political Association, and "Sir! No Sir!"

For more information, contact Gillian Russom at (323) 273-5993;
gillianrussom@hotmail.com