Cuban independent
journalist and Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) International Press
Freedom awardee Jesús Joel Díaz
Hernández has left Cuba for the
United States, where he has been granted
political asylum.
Díaz Hernández arrived
in the United States on March 21 and
has settled in Fort Worth, Texas.
Díaz Hernández, formerly
the executive director of the independent
news agency Cooperativa Avileña
de Periodistas Independientes (CAPI),
served two years in prison under degrading
conditions after a 1999 sham trial in
which he was convicted of "dangerousness,"
a crime unknown outside Cuba.
In November 1999, CPJ honored Díaz
Hernández with an International
Press Freedom Award. In January 2001,
after having served half of his prison
term, Díaz Hernández was
released. He immediately returned to
work for CAPI.
Among the reasons Díaz Hernández
cited for his departure for exile were
the harassment he was constantly subjected
to after going back to his work as an
independent journalist and the "imminence
of jail."
"It's a difficult moment because
I have left behind other colleagues
who are going through hard times,"
Díaz Hernández told CPJ.
Díaz Hernández is one
of many journalists who have left Cuba
in recent years because of official
harassment and threats against them
and their families. According to estimates
by Cuban journalists, about 50 independent
journalists have left the island since
1995, the year that for many marks the
emergence of the independent press in
Cuba.
In Cuba all media is state-owned and
is largely charged with spreading the
official views of the Cuban government.
Independent journalists, who try to
cover issues that are neglected by the
official press, usually file their reports
by phone to radio stations and Web sites
based in Miami and Spain.
In some cases, the Cuban government
has denied exit permits to journalists
who have already obtained a visa to
travel to other countries. Other journalists
invited abroad are allowed to leave
Cuba only if they promise never to return.
As a political refugee, Díaz
Hernández has effectively no
chance of returning to Cuba under the
current regime.
One Cuban journalist remains in jail
as of today. Bernardo Arévalo
Padrón, a journalist who was
jailed in 1997 for "disrespecting"
Cuban president Fidel Castro Ruz and
Cuban State Council member Carlos Lage,
continues to be held in a labor camp
despite being eligible for parole. His
health has suffered as a result of his
prolonged imprisonment.
For more information about press freedom
conditions in Cuba, visit . |
