(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 26 November 2001 RSF press release: CUBA Upon his release, a cyber-dissident outlines the conditions under which he was detained Labour activist José Orlando González Bridon was released on 22 November 2001. He was granted a conditional release, three weeks before his sentence was due to expire. Arrested on […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 26 November 2001 RSF press release:
CUBA
Upon his release, a cyber-dissident outlines the conditions under which he was detained
Labour activist José Orlando González Bridon was released on 22 November 2001. He was granted a conditional release, three weeks before his sentence was due to expire. Arrested on 15 December 2000, José Orlando González Bridon, secretary-general of the Confederation of Cuban Democratic Workers (Confederacion de Trabajadores Democráticos de Cuba, CTDC), an illegal organisation, was the first member of the opposition to receive a prison sentence for an article published on the Internet. In the 5 August 2000 article, published on the website of the Cuba Free Press (cubafreepress.org), based in Florida, United States, the labour activist called into question the authorities’ responsibility in the death of CTDC National Coordinator Joanna González Herrera. He also reported this information on a Miami-based radio station, which was deemed “subversive” by the court.
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) recalls that journalist Bernardo Arévalo Padron, founder of the independent news agency LÃnea Sur Press, is still imprisoned. In November 1997, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for insulting (“desacato”) President Fidel Castro and Vice-President Carlos Lage. On three occasions, the authorities denied his petition for conditional release, arguing that he is not “politically re-educated” yet. Theoretically, he could have had recourse to such an option as of October 2000 for having completed half his sentence.
Released for “good behaviour”
José Orlando González Bridon was released at noon on 22 November. Under the stipulations of his conditional release, in effect until 14 December when his sentence expires, he is prohibited from leaving the municipality where he resides or meeting with members of the opposition. “This is equivalent to being held under house arrest,” the labour activist told RSF.
Prison authorities told him he was being released for “good behaviour”. In fact, José Orlando González Bridon believes his release is due to the authorities’ attempt to “make a gesture,” while the Iberoamerican Summit meeting was held in Lima, Peru. Twenty-three heads of state from Latin America, Spain and Portugal met on 23 and 24 November. Furthermore, his release comes one week before a meeting in Havana, scheduled to reinitiate the political dialogue between the European Union (EU) and Cuba. Since 1996, the EU has been committed to “full cooperation with Cuba ⦠subject to an improvement in the state of human rights and political freedoms”. Cuba wishes to come under the Cotonou Agreement, which sets out the terms of the Fifteen European countries’ support for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.
“Punishment cell” and mistreatment
Confined in the Combinado del Este prison, in Havana province, the labour activist explained that from December 2000 to October 2001 he was kept in a “punishment cell”. These are normally reserved for the more problematic prisoners and for detentions lasting no longer than twenty-one days. During those ten months, he had no contact with the other prisoners. The only furniture he had was a bed that was brought to his cell each day at 6:00 p.m. and taken away at 6:00 a.m. His wife MarÃa Esther Valdés could only visit him once every three weeks. During his imprisonment, the authorities refused to provide him with the special diet he requires because of high blood pressure. Despite all this, the labour activist states that he is in “normal” health.
He says that he witnessed incidents of other prisoners being mistreated. Recently, one of the prisoners committed suicide after being violently beaten. José Orlando González Bridon also condemned the corruption in the prison. According to the labour activist, the guards receive money from those prisoners who wish to improve their conditions or obtain drugs.
Repression of the Internet
José Orlando González Bridon’s trial was held on 24 May 2001, after a number of postponements. Only his family was allowed to attend. A large number of security forces prevent the foreign press and members of the opposition from entering the court. According to the labour activist, the spaces in the room normally reserved for the public were occupied by members of the forces of law and order. On 2 June 2001, José Orlando González Bridon was sentenced by the first instance court to two years’ imprisonment for “distributing false information that compromised the Cuban state’s prestige and credibility” with “the clear intent to collaborate with a foreign power”. On 21 August, the charge was changed under appeal to “defaming institutions, organisations, heroes and martyrs”, and his sentence was reduced to one year in prison. According to the labour activist, his article published on the Internet is being used as a pretext to punish him for all his actions against the government.
In Cuba, access to the Internet is severely restricted. Its use is subject to “Cuban society’s moral principles” and “the country’s laws”. Only foreign companies and governmental institutions are permitted access to the Internet. There are two cyber-cafes in Cuba, but one is reserved for tourists and the second is only open to members of the governmental association of Cuban writers and artists, UNEAC. Since September 2001, four Havana post offices have been offering Cubans the opportunity to get an e-mail address or access the Internet. However, access is limited to those sites approved by the government, known as “Intranet”. In addition, the price is prohibitive: US$4.5 (5 euros) when the average monthly salary is US$12. Small independent news agencies, civil society and human rights organisations, which are not recognised by the government, regularly publish articles on the Internet, mostly on websites based in Miami. They send the information by fax or dictate it over the telephone.
In Cuba, where the constitution stipulates that “freedom of expression and the press” must “conform to the objectives of a socialist society”, only the official press is authorised. Some 100 independent journalists, grouped into about twenty news agencies that are not recognised by the state, are continually harassed. As a result, since 1995, about fifty journalists have had to leave the island.
