(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 7 May 2002 IAPA press release: IAPA condemns governmental harassment of Cuban journalist Miami (7 May 2002) – Today, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the harassment and attacks against independent journalist Juan Carlos Garcell Pérez. On Friday, the journalist was arrested by the Cuban police on two […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 7 May 2002 IAPA press release:
IAPA condemns governmental harassment of Cuban journalist
Miami (7 May 2002) – Today, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the harassment and attacks against independent journalist Juan Carlos Garcell Pérez. On Friday, the journalist was arrested by the Cuban police on two separate occasions, in an attempt to restrict his right to inform.
On 3 May, Garcell Pérez, of the Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental (APLO) news agency, was detained and beaten for one hour. The incident occurred at the Juan Paz Camejo hospital, Sagua de Tánamo municipality, in the province of Holguín, eastern Cuba. At the time, the journalist had been recording an interview with one of the patients’ mother for an article he was writing.
Rafael Molina, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, said that “it is evident from these actions that the Cuban government is trying to force independent journalists to abandon their tenacious efforts.”
The journalist, who is well-known locally, is the Holguín representative of the Sociedad Manuel Márquez Sterling, an association not recognised by the Cuban authorities that provides training courses for independent journalists. He was detained one more time on 3 May, but this time at his home.
According to information provided by Raúl Rivero, the regional vice-president in Cuba of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, National Police and state security officers raided Garcell Pérez’s home at midnight on Friday 3 May. The officers seized five books on journalistic practices, documents, letters, magazines and the journalist’s files. The journalist was again mistreated during the inspection, which concluded at dawn on Saturday.
Garcell Pérez was released on Saturday afternoon and fined 400 pesos. He was given a warning and an official card which identifies him as an “individual highly likely to commit a crime.”
Molina, of Ahora magazine, Dominican Republic, referred to the resolution on Cuba, approved during the IAPA’s meeting, which noted that “the persecution and harassment of the independent press by the Castro totalitarian government is escalating. We reaffirm our support and encouragement for independent journalists and once again condemn the regime for its flagrant violation of freedom of expression and the press and its complete disrespect for human rights”.
For more information on the independent press, visit the IAPA’s page on Cuba, http://cuba.sipiapa.org
