MIAMI, United States. – Journalists from CubaNet Vladimir Turro Paez and Enrique Diaz Rodriguez, arrested and threatened this Wednesday by State Security, assure that “the regime is going to attack independent journalism” after the approval of the new Penal Code.
Both reporters were arrested when they were at the intersection of 114th Avenue and 51st Street, in Marianao, trying to carry out several interviews for this medium.
“At the moment when we were going to interview a person about the blackouts, a patrol car arrives and puts us in front of the motorcycle. The officers get out and ask us for identification. We gave them all the documents and the State Security officer appeared right there and told us that we had to follow the patrol to the Police station,” the reporters said.
The two journalists were threatened with jail if they did not give up their work as independent journalists or leave the country.
“They start asking us what we were doing interviewing that person, what the interview was about, what our plans were, if we had already thought about what they told us at the airport that we had to leave the country. Later [el oficial de la Seguridad del Estado] He said that if we continued doing this type of work – street interviews, independent journalism – they were going to confiscate our motorcycle.”
“Later they said that what we were doing was a totally illegal activity. They said that because of the financing we received, we could face sentences of up to 10 years in prison under the new Penal Code,” they pointed out.
“They also warned us, once again, to leave the country because they were soon going to start implementing the new Penal Code against all independent journalists and opponents,” they concluded.
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