(RSF/IFEX) – In a 4 February 1998 letter sent after Pope John-Paul II’s 21-25 January visit to Cuba, RSF confirmed that journalists Lorenzo Paez Nunez and Bernardo Arevalo Padron were still detained. **Updates IFEX alerts of 16 January 1998, 17 October, 18 September, 21 August 1997 (Arevalo Padron case); and updates IFEX alert of 16 […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 4 February 1998 letter sent after Pope John-Paul II’s
21-25 January visit to Cuba, RSF confirmed that journalists Lorenzo Paez
Nunez and Bernardo Arevalo Padron were still detained.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 16 January 1998, 17 October, 18 September, 21
August 1997 (Arevalo Padron case); and updates IFEX alert of 16 July 1997
(Paez Nunez case)**
Background Information
On 10 July 1997, Lorenzo Paez Nunez, a mathematics professor and the
local correspondent of the Independent Press Bureau of Cuba (Buro de la
Prensa Independiente de Cuba, BPIC) in Artemisa (near Havana), was
detained by four officers from the national police force. On 11 July, the
day after his arrest, Paez Nunez was sentenced to 18 months in prison and
was charged with “defamation of the national police force” and with
“insulting and contemptuous behaviour” by the Artemisa municipal court.
He was not allowed access to a lawyer in order to defend himself. Paez
Nunez was charged, following a complaint by a former officer of the
Ministry of the Interior, with disseminating information concerning a
fight between police officers and Cuban youth. On 24 July, the tribunal
in Havana ratified the sentence, and ruled that the journalist would not
have recourse to an appeal. He is currently held in a prison commonly
known as “km 5,5” in the province of Pinar del Rio (see IFEX alerts).
On 28 November 1997, Bernardo Arevalo Padron, railroad engineer and
founder of the independent news agency Linea Sur Press in Aguado de
Pasajeros, was sentenced to six years in prison. A Cienfuegos court
charged him with “insulting and contemptuous behaviour” towards the head
of State and the President of the National Assembly, Carlos Lage.
Interviewed by radio from Miami, Arevalo Padron denounced the allegations
as lies and accused the government of ignoring the declaration of Vita
del Mar (Chile), where the Ibero-American Summit of 1996 was held. The
declaration, which was signed by Cuba, upholds political plurality as a
universal value. The founder of Linea Sur Press is currently imprisoned
in Ariza, in the province of Cienfuegos (see IFEX alerts).
On 3 February 1998, Arevalo Padron wrote to Marvin Hernandez,
correspondent of the independent news agency Cuba Press. In his letter,
he writes that he is held in a cell with non-political prisoners, that he
has been suffering from bronchitis for one month, and that his request
for a visit by a Catholic priest has been ignored.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Cuban President:
have been arrested for exercising their right to freedom of speech
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.
