20 journalists in prison since March 2003

20 journalists in prison since March 2003

In Cuba, they don’t just censor you now - they throw you in jail.

President Fidel Castro’s police rounded up 27 independent journalists on
18 March 2003, along with more than 50 political dissidents, all for the
same reason. At the beginning of April, Cuban courts dispatched each of
these journalists to prison for between 14 and 27 years after three days
of sham trials. They were punished for allegedly working with the United
States “against the independence and territorial integrity of the
state,” which is a crime under article 91 of the Cuban criminal code and
under article 88 on “protecting national independence” (known as the
“gag law”).

Those targeted had regularly published articles in the foreign press,
mostly American, since no independent or privately-owned newspaper or
radio or TV station is allowed in Cuba, and had recently dared to start
up two underground publications in Cuba itself - “De Cuba” and “Luz
Cubana” - which was unprecedented in the 44 years of President Castro’s
rule.

This new persecution of political opponents and independent journalists,
as well as the execution on 11 April of three would-be refugees who
hijacked a ferry in a bid to reach Florida, has revolted democrats
around the world, even leading the European Union to reconsider its
future economic cooperation with Cuba. As a result, fourteen of the
dissidents, including seven journalists, have since been released.

Reporters Without Borders invites the public to sign a petition calling
for the immediate release of the 20 journalists who are still in jail.

http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=367