The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) denounced the “systematic repression of the independent press in Cuba,” through a resolution published during its 78th General Assembly, held in Madrid from October 27 to 30.
The document exposes the Cuban government’s “incessant harassment” of those who defend freedom of the press and expression, and mentions the lack of respect for foreign press correspondents.
The IAPA considers it urgent that the regime desist from applying the new Penal Code, which will come into force on December 1 and provides for “the typification of new crimes to the extent of its repressive policy.” This legal body “further violates the exercise of independent journalism,” they add.
The complaint is preceded by several considerations about the situation of independent reporters on the Island, in particular that of Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca, arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 5 years in prison on the charge of “continued enemy propaganda and resistance”.
The “serious state of health” of Valle Roca, considers the IAPA, is a consequence of the “severe penalties for critics of the Government,” which will worsen with the implementation of the new Penal Code.
The organization also mentions the blackmailing of journalists by agents of the Ministry of the Interior, who propose “leaving the country in exchange for publicly renouncing independent media.”
The organization also mentions the blackmailing of journalists by agents of the Ministry of the Interior, who propose “leaving the country in exchange for publicly renouncing the independent media”, and subjecting those who refuse, to a ban on traveling outside the Island.
Another factor in government repression consists of the imposition of “onerous fines” for reporting problematic events for the regime from social networks and the Internet. They detailed that the digital sphere has become a “center of espionage and censorship by the state communications company,” Etecsa.
In addition, they consider, “the arrests of journalists continue to be the order of the day”, a situation that they exemplify with the case of the journalist from Camagüey, Henry Constantín, director of the Cuban Time and regional vice president for Cuba of the IAPA. They also noted the frequency with which house arrest and harassment of journalists and their families are practiced.
Finally, they detail the seriousness of the political and social crisis on the island, the massive exodus of Cubans and the strengthening of the repressive apparatus, from the Police to the legal system and surveillance.
The SIP statement is consistent with the Chapultepec Index 2022 on freedom of the press, issued by the organization during its General Assembly, where Cuba ranked twentieth, one of the last on the list, surpassed only by Venezuela and Nicaragua. The three nations are the only ones that fall into the “no freedom of expression” category.
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