JOURNALIST HELD FOR PAST TEN DAYS, CHARGED WITH “TERRORISM”

JOURNALIST HELD FOR PAST TEN DAYS, CHARGED WITH "TERRORISM"
PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY 17 APRIL 2014.

Reporters Without Borders condemns independent journalist Juliet
Michelena Díaz's detention since 7 April, three days before the
publication of a by-lined report she wrote for the Miami-based
independent news platform Cubanet about a case of ordinary police
violence she had witnessed in Havana.

Michelena, who was arrested in a heavy-handed police operation, is a
member of the Cuban Network of Community Journalists (RCCC), an
organization that defends freedom of information. The police often break
up its meetings and arrest participants, but the arrests are usually of
short duration.

The charges against Michelena have changed since her arrest. Initially
accused of "threatening a neighbour," she is now charged with
"terrorism." Despite the absence of any evidence, the nature of the
charge prevents a quick release, which is otherwise often the case with
arbitrary arrests in Cuba.

"We urge the authorities to free Michelena without delay and drop all
charges against her," said Lucie Morillon, head of research at Reporters
Without Borders. "The decision to bring a more serious charge indicates
a desire to silence her and put a stop to all her critical reporting.
Police violence is nonetheless far from being a subject that Cubans can
easily forget."

Independent journalists are subject to constant judicial harassment in
Cuba. Arbitrary arrests are used to undermine their ability to work and
to restrict the flow of information.

Michelena was already arrested on 26 March, when she was released after
a few hours. Police officers attacked the independent journalist Dania
Virgen García on 12 April, as she was dropping her nephew off at school.
Two state TV journalists who began to film the attack were also
immediately arrested. The three women were released that evening.

Reporters Without Borders wrote to French foreign minister Laurent
Fabius ahead of his visit to Havana on 10 April asking him to raise the
issue of arrests of journalists. RWB believes that an improvement in
economic relations between Cuba and European Union countries should not
be at the expense of Cuba's journalists.

Three other journalists and bloggers are currently detained in Cuba.
They are Yoenni de Jesús Guerra García, who was arrested last October
and was given a seven-year jail term in March; Angel Santiesteban-Prats,
who has been held for more than a year; and José Antonio Torres, a
reporter for the official newspaper Granma who was given a 14-year
sentence in July 2012.

Cuba is ranked 170th out of 180 countries in the 2014 Reporters Without
Borders press freedom index – the lowest position of any country in the
Americas.

Source: Journalist held for past ten days, charged with "terrorism" -
Reporters Without Borders -
http://en.rsf.org/cuba-journalist-held-for-past-ten-days-17-04-2014,46165.html