At a glance-
Art Under Pressure DECREE 349 RESTRICTS CREATIVE FREEDOM IN CUBA
In recent years, Cubans have experienced mo- mentous change, from a gradual loosening of eco- nomic restrictions to greater access to cell phones, Wi-Fi, and social media. But the Cuban govern- ment continues to operate in a highly centralized and controlled way, including in the arts sector,
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Freedom on the Net 2017: Cuba
The government has continued to control the digital landscape by blocking critical sites. Tests also found that the state-owned cellphone provider Cubacel had been systematically filtering domestic SMS containing keywords such as “democracy,” “dictatorship,” and “human rights”
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Freedom of the Press 2017: Cuba
Independent outlets, which are technically illegal but tolerated if they do not cross certain red lines, continued to open and expand.
18 September 1997
Alert
Renewed harassment of journalists
Incident details
Omar Rodriguez Saludes, Odalys Curbelo Sanchez, Bernardo Arevalo Padron, Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, Efren Martinez Pulgaron journalist(s) harassedRSF/IFEX) - On 8 September 1997, Omar Rodriguez Saludes of the New Press
news agency (ANP) was arrested by a State Security officer who, after
threatening Rodriguez, confiscated his camera and several documents.
Rodriguez had been covering a religious festival. The same day, Odalys
Curbelo Sanchez, correspondent for the news agency Cuba Press in Pinar del
Rio, was summoned to appear at the State Security office in that city. On 5
September, Bernardo Arevalo Padron, director of the news agency Linea Azul
Press, was detained for five hours at police headquarters in Aguada de
Pasajeros, in the province of Cienfuegos. He was released without having
been questioned. The same day, Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, a journalist with
Cuba Press, was summoned to police headquarters in Havana. No police officer
interrogated the journalist.
On 13 August, Efren Martinez Pulgaron, of Cuba Press, was arrested by State
Security agents in San Luis, near Pinar Del Rio. He was then detained in the
State Security office in Pinar del Rio. On 27 August, authorities told his
mother that he could be incarcerated for up to six months without there
being any charge brought against him. On 3 September, a police officer told
his mother that her son's release would depend on Cuba Press handing over a
dictaphone. During the arrest of Martinez, officers had already seized a
tape recorder. He shares a small cell with three other prisoners. Martinez
had previously been arrested in November 1996.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
Appeals To
His Excellency Fidel Castro
President
Havana, Cuba
Dr Juan Escalona Reguera
State Prosecutor
San Rafael 3, La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +53 7 333164
Roberto Robaina Gonzalez
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign AffairsC
alzada No. 360
Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
Fax: + 53 7 333085 / 335261
General Abelardo Colome Ibarra
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
Plaza de la Revolucion
Havana, Cuba
c/o the Cuban Mission at the United Nations
New York NY 10016, United States
Fax: +1 212 779 1697
or c/o the Cuban diplomatic representative in your country
(in the United States)
Cuban Interest Section
Washington DC, United States
Fax: +1 202 797 8521
(in Canada)
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba
388 Main StreetOttawa, Ontario
K1S 1E3, Canada
Fax: +1 613 563 0068
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
Source
Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris, France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Fax:+33 1 45 23 11 51
Journalist detained for questioning
11 December 1998
Renewed harassment of journalists
18 September 1997
- Most covered free expression issues in this country