(EFE).- The Inter-American Press Association (SIP) denounced on Tuesday an unprecedented “crisis” in the unofficial media in Cuba and the “repression” of the authorities against journalists and influencers.
In its new semi-annual report, the IAPA assures that “the crisis of independent journalism is approaching a depth never seen in the last 30 years” and highlights the departure of “dozens” of independent professionals from the country in the face of harassment and the serious economic crisis .
“In this scenario, the press and independent activists have been the most affected sectors. The repression continues and for this reason there are more than a thousand political prisoners,” the document states.
The IAPA indicates that the number of attacks on journalists (and cites “arrest threats”, “home police surveillance” and “blocking of telephone communications”) has recently decreased, but attributes it to the flight of independent professionals.
It stresses that the journalist Yuri Valle Roca remains in jail despite his “serious health problems” after a five-year sentence “for filming and reporting on the launching of some leaflets in Havana.”
The report also points out that “critical citizens are threatened or taken to police units” for expressing themselves on social networks, especially on Facebook
He also recalls that the Cuban authorities have prohibited several professionals from leaving the country, such as reinaldo escobarBoris González Arenas, Inalkis Rodríguez, Camila Acosta, Julio Aleaga, Jorge Enrique Rodríguez, Iris Mariño, Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina and henry constantin.
The report also points out that “critical citizens are threatened or taken to police units” for expressing themselves on social networks, especially on Facebook.
In this sense, it exposes the cases of sulmira martinez and Hilda Nunez, two Cuban influencers arrested in recent months. Martínez, imprisoned since January for a publication, appeared self-incriminating in an interview recently released by State Security.
The IAPA also indicated that the youtuber Yoandi Montiel, known as The Cuban Cat, was released after serving two years in prison for his criticism of the Cuban government.
The text also denounces the legal “gag” against “the freedoms of the press and expression” that the Penal Code, the Law of Associations, Decree 370, Law 88 and the Constitution of 2019, among other regulations, entail.
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