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February 3, 1999
His Excellency Fidel Castro Ruz
President of Cuba
c/o United Nations Mission
New York, NY
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to condemn the recent
crackdown on the independent press in Cuba. The harassment, arrest, detention,
and imprisonment of journalists who have committed no crime other than to
express their opinions is a clear violation of international law. Furthermore,
the practice of jailing journalists because they are deemed "dangerous" is a
flagrant violation of the most basic tenet of international human rights, the
right to a presumption of innocence.
Article 72 of Cuba's Penal Code states: "Any person shall be deemed dangerous if
he or she has shown a proclivity to commit crimes demonstrated by conduct that
is in manifest contradiction with the norms of socialist morality." Under the
law, any police officer can issue a warning (acta de advertencia) for
dangerousness. At the discretion of the prosecuting authorities, any person who
has received one or more warnings can be convicted of dangerousness and
sentenced to up to four years in prison. A warning can also be issued for
associating with a "dangerous person." Since the beginning of 1999, CPJ has
documented three cases in which journalists were jailed or threatened with jail
because of "dangerousness."
On January 15, Pedro Argüelles Morán, Ciego de Avila correspondent of the
independent agency CubaPress, was summoned before the local chief of the
Revolutionary National Police (PNR). He received a warning for "dangerousness"
because he was not working for a state company.
On January 18, Hirán González, CubaPress correspondent in the province of
Cienfuegos, was summoned to the headquarters of the PNR in the town Aguada de
Pasajeros. State Security officer Vladimir Castillo told González, "I'm going to
put you in prison if you keep on passing news to Radio Martí," a reference to
the US-funded radio station that broadcasts into Cuba. The journalist was
threatened with a trial for "dangerousness."
On January 18, Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández, executive director of the Cooperativa
Avileña de Periodistas Independientes (CAPI), was arrested at his home in the
town of Morón, Ciego de Avila Province, by officers of the Revolutionary
National Police (PNR). On January 19, Díaz Hernández was convicted of
"dangerousness" and sentenced to four years in prison by the Morón Municipal
Court. He had previously received six warnings for "dangerousness." Díaz
Hernández, who started a hunger strike and refused to drink water after his
detention, appealed the conviction. After a summary session on January 22, the
Provincial Court in Ciego de Avila confirmed Díaz Hernández's sentence even
though he was not permitted to have his attorney present (he was represented by
a state-appointed lawyer). Díaz Hernández ended his hunger strike and began to
take liquids on January 28. Today, he is being held in solitary confinement in
Canaleta Prison in Morón.
As an organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of press freedom
around the world, we believe that the systematic crackdown on the independent
press in Cuba is a clear violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression
including the right "to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers." To jail those who exercise this liberty
is a violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration, which states, "No one
shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile." The lack of a fair
trial, due process, or even the basic presumption of innocence exposes the
manner in which Cuban law is used as a bludgeon against the independent media.
We believe that the recent crackdown is a response to the increased coverage by
the independent press of public protests, marches, religious processions, and
trials of dissidents charged with crimes against the state. CPJ has documented
the following cases that have given rise to this concern:
Three State Security officers detained Havana Press correspondents Jesús Díaz
Loyola, Lázaro Rodríguez Torres, and María del Carmen Carro Gómez and Havana
Press director Jorge Olivera on January 6 in order to prevent them from covering
the appeal hearing of political dissident Lázaro Constantín Durán, who was
convicted in December and sentenced to four years in prison for "dangerousness."
Olivera and Carro were released after several hours; Loyola and Rodríguez were
held overnight and released on January 7.
On January 13, two State Security officers detained CubaPress correspondent
Odalys Ivette Curbelo Sánchez for several hours and warned her not to cover any
street demonstrations. That same day, two State Security officers detained María
de los Angeles González Amaro, director of the Unión de Periodistas y Escritores
Cubanos Independientes (UPECI) and detained her for two days in order to prevent
her from covering a planned march on January 13 commemorating the birth of
Martin Luther King, Jr.
UPECI correspondent Nancy Sotolongo León, UPECI photographer Santiago Martínez
Trujillo, and Angel Pablo Polanco of the Cooperativa de Periodistas
Independientes (CPI) were detained just prior to the January 25 procession
marking the one-year anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II. On the day
of the procession, two State Security officers warned UPECI director González
Amaro not to cover the procession. She defied the warning and was detained on
January 26. She was released along with the three other detained journalists on
January 29.
CubaPress correspondent Pedro Argüelles Morán was arrested in Ciego de Avila on
January 27 preventing him from covering the celebration of the 146th anniversary
of the birth of José Martí on January 28. Argüelles Morán was released on
January 29.
The pattern of arrests suggests to us a systematic campaign on the part of the
government to thwart the work of Cuba's independent press, in violation of
international law. The conviction of Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández brings to four
the number of journalists currently incarcerated in Cuba. We call on Your
Excellency to immediately release all of them, because, under international
law, they have committed no crime. In addition, we believe that the prosecution
of Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández violated his basic right to a presumption of
innocence. We urge you to amend the legislation regarding "dangerousness" to
bring it into accord with international norms.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on
the Press in Cuba
Send a letter to:
His Excellency Fidel Castro Ruz
President of Cuba
c/o United Nations Mission
New York, NY
VIA FAX: (212) 779-1697
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