Political Intrusion on our own Back Porch

Abstract

In July, 2004, Professor Desjeux and I endorsed the statement by the World Association of Medical Editors that affirmed that governments should not try to influence the content of medical publications (1,2). Shortly thereafter, we were directly confronted with such a situation. I would like to describe the situation and inform the readers of the Journal of the steps that were taken to deal with it. The United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is charged with administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions against "foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction" who have been identified as such by United States foreign policy and national security goals (3). From time to time, depending upon government policies, OFAC regulations have been extended to apply to information or informational materials from embargoed nations, an extension that many involved in publication of written material viewed as an assault on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the United States Constitution. In 1988, the so-called Berman Amendment to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act attempted to prohibit the regulation of informational materials as part of any program of government trade embargo. The impact of the Berman Amendment was significant at the time. However, after September 11, 2001, many government regulations dealing with commerce with the "enemy" were re-examined and in many cases re-interpreted to mean that the addition of value to scientific manuscripts by United States citizens through translating, editing, and even typesetting and distribution constituted illegal trade with the enemy. One may scoff at this paranoid interpretation, but the penalties imposed for contravening these laws included a chilling 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 (US). On April 5, 2004, in response to concerns raise by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) over the prohibition of publication of scientific manuscripts from nations such as Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Cuba and others, Mr. R. Richard Newcomb, Director of OFAC, publicly clarified the position of OFAC, specifically giving the IEEE a license to publish such manuscripts. His statement also indicated more generally that "today's ruling makes clear that scientific communities in sanctioned countries may publish their works in US scholarly journals" and "this process is vital to promoting the free flow of information within the global community of scholarship" (4). This announcement was met with general relief and a major article highlighting the statement from Mr. Newcomb was published in The New York Times shortly thereafter (5). Unfortunately, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), in which our publisher holds membership, did not feel that the OFAC statement provided sufficient protection from prosecution to anyone except IEEE, which was specifically granted a license to edit and publish foreign manuscripts. The concerns of the AAP were detailed in an open letter by Allan Adler in April, 2004 (6). Because of these concerns, a recent article from Iran, reviewed and accepted, was refused a position in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition by our publisher. This refusal sent a chill through all of us at the Journal, regardless of citizenship. Much behind the scenes work was done by both the NASPGHAN and ESPGHAN editors and their respective Publications Committees with individuals at Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins to address the problem. A means was found that has allowed our publisher to agree to the publication of the manuscript from Iran and that we hope can be applied to other manuscripts from embargoed nations in the future. Because the Iranian manuscript was submitted, reviewed, and edited through the ESPGHAN office and was ready for publication when sent to the publisher, no United States citizen can be charged with "adding value" to the "product." As one can easily see, this mechanism does not address the principle of the problem of government control of scientific publication and is certainly no help to medical journals that do not have an editorial office outside the United States. I am pleased to report that several United States publishing organizations, including The Professional and Scholarly Division of the Association of American Publishers, have recently sued the United States Department of Treasury stating that the OFAC regulations limiting publication of manuscripts from embargoed nations are a contravention of the constitutional right to free speech (7). The case has not yet been presented or decided. I am also pleased to report that on December 15, 2004, in response to the suit, the Treasury Department clarified its stance, stating that all transactions relating to publication of scientific manuscripts were exempted from their regulations at least in the case of manuscripts from Cuba, Iran, and the Sudan (8). Judith M. Sondheimer NASPGHAN Editor of JPGN