Maria Grazia Cutuli (October 26, 1962 – November 19, 2001) was an Italian journalist who worked as a reporter with the daily newspaper ''
Corriere della Sera
The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015.
First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
''. She was killed while on assignment in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
where she was covering the
US military invasion following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. She was murdered between
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
and
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
with three other journalists.
Cutuli was the first female and first Italian journalist to be killed during the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
in 2001.
Personal
Maria Grazia Cutuli was born and raised in
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, Italy, but later she resided in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
as a professional journalist.
She studied philosophy and graduated from the
University of Catania
The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...
.
She took up residence in Milan by 1990.
Career
Maria Grazia Cutuli worked as a journalist for over 11 years.
She first worked for the newspaper ''
La Sicilia
''La Sicilia'' is an Italian daily newspaper for the island of Sicily. Published in Catania, it is the second best-selling newspaper in Sicily. It was first published in 1945.
History and profile
''La Sicilia'' was founded and first published i ...
'', at first writing theater reviews, and in local broadcast news. She wrote for magazines, such as ''Epoca'' and ''Panorama''. She traveled to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and wrote freelance articles to build her credentials as a foreign correspondent.
She worked for ''Corriere della Sera'' since 1997.
After her murder in Afghanistan, she was elevated to "Special Correspondent" by ''Corriere della Sera''.
Death
Maria Grazia Cutuli was murdered along with Spanish war correspondent
Julio Fuentes of
El Mundo, and Australian
Harry Burton and Afghan
Azizullah Haidari, who both worked for
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
.
They were murdered about 90 kilometers from Kabul near
Sarubi, located in the
Nangarhar Province, on 19 November 2001, as the group travelled between Jalalabad and Kabul.
Her autopsy revealed that she had died from 4 gun shot wounds to the back and it confirmed her earlobe had been cut off, which was done by her murderer for jewellery.
A group of journalists had left in a small convoy of about 8 cars from Jalalabad and were en route to Kabul. The first several cars of the convoy were stopped near a bridge by armed, Pashto-speaking men who identified themselves as Taliban. When rock throwing and shooting ensued, the 4 cars in the rear turned and escaped back to Jalalabad.
Before she was killed, Cutili was raped by the later convicted murderer
Reza Khan
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...
.
On the same day of her death, her last article in ''Corriere della Sera'' was published, called "A deposit of nerve gas in the base of Osama."
That story was filed earlier but reported on the discovery of a chemical factory that posed a threat during the war.
Legal proceedings
Reza Khan testified that the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
ordered the murder of journalists.
Other independent sources at the time implicated the Taliban.
In 2004
Reza Khan
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...
was convicted in Kabul for the murders and also rape, as well as additional crimes against Afghan nationals. He was sentenced to death in November 2004.
Two Afghani brothers were also implicated and convicted in the murder of the other journalists in 2005.
Khan was executed by gunfire in October 2007 at the same time that 14 others were executed, including the convicted murderers of her colleagues.
Context
The group of journalists was killed within a week of the fall of the Taliban during a period of time when other journalists were also targets.
Impact
Maria Grazia Cutuli became a hero in Italy after her murder.
Her funeral service at Sant'Agata Cathedral in her native region of Sicily was attended by around 5,000 people.
The Cutuli Onlus Foundation was formed in March 2008 in her birth city of Catania.
A school for immigrants was also founded in her hometown.
A national journalism award was created in Italy that carried the name of Cutuli.
Reactions
Among those who reacted to the murder of Cutuli was the Italian President
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
Biography Education
Ciampi was born i ...
and Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
.
See also
*
List of journalists killed during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
References
External links
Foundation Maria Grazia Cutuli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutuli, Maria Grazia
1962 births
2001 deaths
Assassinated Italian journalists
Italian women journalists
Journalists killed while covering the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Violence against women in Afghanistan
Women war correspondents
20th-century Italian journalists