Italy

New York, May 3, 2006—Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist whose new book raises questions about a serial murder investigation, was released from a prison in the central city of Perugia on Saturday, according to local and international press reports.

An appeals court that day ordered that Spezi be released immediately, but it did not issue an explanation as to why it overruled the judge who authorized the imprisonment. Spezi, 60, spent 22 days in prison after being taken into custody on April 7. News reports said that he was under criminal investigation for allegedly obstructing an investigation into the 1968-85 “monster of Florence” murders. Spezi was initially denied access to a lawyer.