(CPJ/IFEX) – On 15 June 1998, journalist Juan Carlos Recio Martinez began serving a sentence of twelve months of forced labour. Recio Martinez was convicted in February for “Acts against the Security of the State” and sentenced to one year of agricultural labour (see Background, below). **Updates IFEX alerts of 20 and 6 February 1998** […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – On 15 June 1998, journalist Juan Carlos Recio Martinez began
serving a sentence of twelve months of forced labour. Recio Martinez was
convicted in February for “Acts against the Security of the State” and
sentenced to one year of agricultural labour (see Background, below).
**Updates IFEX alerts of 20 and 6 February 1998**
Recio Martinez is serving his sentence in the Abel Santamaría agricultural
co-operative in Villa Clara province. While he is permitted to leave the
co-operative after his work is completed each day, CPJ nevertheless views
mandatory forced labour as a form of confinement.
Background Information
The conviction stems from an incident in October 1997 in which Recio
Martinez, who works as the Villa Clara correspondent for the Buro de Prensa
Independiente de Cuba (BPIC), received a written statement from opposition
activist Cecilio Monteagudo Sanchez exhorting Cubans to abstain from voting
in the upcoming elections. Even though Recio Martinez did not publish a
story on the document, he was convicted for failing to notify the Interior
Ministry that he had received it (see IFEX alerts).
Recommended Action
Send appeals to President Fidel Castro:
violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
guarantees the right to “receive and impart information and ideas through
any media regardless of frontiers”
journalists are free to practise their profession without fear of reprisal
Appeals To
His Excellency Fidel Castro
President
Havana, Cubac/o the Cuban Mission at the United Nations
New York NY 10016, United States
Fax: +1 212 779 1697or 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 Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1E3, Canada
Fax: +1 613 563 0068
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
