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CPJ,
Latin American journalists and writers, call for the release of imprisoned
Cuban journalists
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists
Open
letter to the Cuban government
March 16, 2005
Fidel Castro Ruz
President of the Councils of State and Ministers
Republic of Cuba
c/o Cuban Interests Section in the United States of America
2630 16th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Via facsimile: (202) 797-8521
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists, together with the following
108 Latin American journalists and writers, calls for the
immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned Cuban
journalists. We further demand that the sentences of six journalists
released on medical parole be annulled.
With 23 imprisoned journalists, Cuba remains one of the world's
leading jailers of journalists, second only to China. The
journalists have been jailed since March 2003, when the Cuban
government arrested them as the world's attention was focused
on the war in Iraq. Two weeks after their detentions, the
journalists were tried summarily—their trials lasted
one day—behind closed doors, and they were sentenced
to prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years.
Although the Cuban government has labeled them "mercenaries,"
an analysis of trial documents shows that the journalists'
work was within the parameters of the legitimate exercise
of free expression established under international human rights
standards.
The imprisoned journalists have reported unsanitary prison
conditions and inadequate medical care. They have also complained
of receiving rotten food. Unlike the general prison population,
most journalists are only allowed family visits every three
months and marital visits every four months. Their relatives
have been harassed for talking to the foreign press, protesting
the journalists' incarceration, and gathering signatures calling
for their release.
Those journalists who were ill before being jailed have seen
their health worsen in prison and have been transferred to
hospitals or prison infirmaries, while others have developed
new illnesses. Some journalists went on hunger strikes during
2004 to protest their conditions. Because prison authorities
refused to allow outside contact with the strikers or to disclose
information about them, their families were unable to monitor
their health.
Between June and December 2004, Cuban authorities released
six journalists on medical parole. One released journalist,
Carmelo Díaz Fernández, was warned that he would
be sent back to prison if he recovered from his illnesses—or
if he did not maintain "good behavior."
In late 2004, the remaining jailed journalists were transferred
to prison hospitals in Havana, ostensibly for medical checkups.
The transfers came as Cuba resumed formal diplomatic contacts
with Spain in a possible precursor to normalizing relations
with the European Union. The circumstances fueled speculation
that additional releases were imminent, but all 23 were returned
to their prisons.
Most jailed journalists are far from their homes, adding
to the heavy burden on their families. The imprisonment of
these journalists in reprisal for their independent reporting
violates the most basic norms of international law, including
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
guarantees everyone "the right to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers."
As writers and journalists in Latin America, we earn our
livelihoods by gathering and disseminating information and,
in some cases, expressing our opinions. We believe that our
activities benefit the societies in which we live and that
our right to freedom of expression is protected by international
law. For the Cuban government to arbitrarily abrogate this
right is an affront to human dignity. We urge the Cuban government
to respect international law by allowing journalists to work
freely, without fear of reprisal.
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
List of journalists and writers who have joined CPJ's letter
to the Cuban government
Argentina
Tomás Eloy Martínez
Andew Graham-Yooll
Roberto Guareschi
Mabel Moralejo
Joaquín Morales Solá
Mario Diament
Nelson Castro
Alfredo Leuco
Daniel Santoro
Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú
Jorge Elías
Fernando Ruiz
James Neilson
Mónica Gutiérrez
Miguel Wiñazki
José Ignacio López
Daniel Muchnik
Santiago O'Donnell
Gabriel Michi
Ana Barón
Sergio Carreras
Darío Gallo
Bolivia
Jorge Canelas
Raúl Peñaranda Undurraga
Juan Carlos Rocha
Brazil
Geraldinho Vieira
Lúcio Flávio Pinto
Rosental Calmon Alves
Chile
Faride Zerán
Abraham Santibáñez
Alejandra Matus
Mónica González
Juan Pablo Cárdenas Squella
Claudia Lagos
María Olivia Mönckeberg
Patricia Verdugo
Alberto Luengo
Patricio Fernández
Colombia
María Jimena Duzán
Antonio Caballero
Ignacio Gómez
Germán Rey
Marta Ruiz
Heriberto Fiorillo
Juliana Cano
Antonio Melo
Darío Fernando Patiño
Nora Sanín
Juan Manuel Ruiz
Guillermo Puyana
Jorge Cardona
Jaime Abello Banfi
Hernando Corral
Javier Darío Restrepo
María Teresa Ronderos
María Isabel Cerón
Fernando Alonso
Alvaro Sierra
Costa Rica
Eduardo Ulibarri
Armando González
Mauricio Herrera
Dominican Republic
Fausto Rosario Adames
Ecuador
Miguel Rivadaneira
El Salvador
Jaime López
Guatemala
José Rubén Zamora
Haiti
Michele Montas
Jean Roland Chery
Honduras
Thelma Mejía
Mexico
Carlos Fuentes
Elena Poniatowska
Jorge Zepeda Patterson
Rossana Fuentes
J. Jesús Blancornelas
Angeles Mastretta
Homero Aridjis
Francisco Martín Moreno
Ernesto Villanueva
Pedro Armendares
Federico Reyes Heroles
Laura Esquivel
Carlos Monsiváis
Gerardo Albarrán
Nicaragua
Carlos F. Chamorro
Sergio Ramírez
Panama
Miguel Antonio Bernal
Marcos Castillo
Rolando Rodríguez
Guillermo Sánchez Borbón
Brittmarie Janson Pérez
Paraguay
Benjamín Fernández Bogado
Peru
Ricardo Uceda
Gustavo Gorriti
Enrique Zileri
Mirko Lauer
Kela León
Cecilia Valenzuela
Edmundo Cruz
Guido Lombardi
Santiago Pedraglio
Uruguay
Claudio Paolillo
Nelson Fernández
Tomás Linn
Mónica Bottero
Alfonso Lessa
Alvaro Giz
Venezuela
Teodoro Petkoff
Andrés Cañizalez
Ewald Scharfenberg
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