Cuba
2006
Independent journalist held for a year may be charged
New York, July 20, 2006—After a year in detention without trial, Cuban journalist Oscar Mario González Pérez could soon be charged with causing public disorder, his lawyer has told the family. González, a reporter for the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, was arrested on July 22, 2005 after he left his home in…
African leaders urged to defend press freedom
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you as chairman of the African Union to discuss with your fellow heads of state and government at your summit in the Gambian capital, Banjul, from July 1, the need to defend press freedom on the continent.
CPJ concerned about deteriorating health of two Cuban journalists
New York, June 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today at the worsening health of two independent Cuban journalists. Guillermo Fariñas, who has refused food for four months to protest government restrictions on Internet access, was still unconscious five days after emergency surgery to remove fluid from his left lung, his mother told…
Reporter jailed in Cuba after covering government evictions
New York, May 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of independent Cuban journalist Armando Betancourt who was arrested a week ago while covering the evictions of dozens of families from their homes in the central city of Camagüey, sources told CPJ. On May 23, authorities forcefully evicted families allegedly occupying homes illegally,…
The world’s most censored countries
Could you pick out Equatorial Guinea on the world map? Or Turkmenistan, or Eritrea? Probably not at the first attempt. These countries are usually below the radar of the international media, and the autocrats who run them like it that way. It helps them crush press freedoms and keep their population in the dark. That is why the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based press freedom group, has drawn up a league table of the world’s 10 most censored countries. We hope that the list, issued on World Press Freedom Day, will shine a light into the dark corners of the world where governments and their political cronies decide what people will read, see, and hear.
CPJ concerned by reports of mistreatment of jailed journalists
New York, April 6, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that one jailed independent Cuban journalist has been beaten, a second has been denied medical treatment in prison, and a third has been threatened with detention for her writing. On March 28, independent journalist Normando Hernández González was thrown down a flight…
CPJ concerned about health of two journalists on hunger strike
New York, March 16, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today about the health of two independent journalists on hunger strike in Cuba, one of them in prison. Guillermo Fariñas, director of the independent news agency Cubacán Press, has refused food for 45 days to protest government restrictions on journalists’ access to the Internet,…
CPJ condemns ongoing harassment of independent journalists
New York, February 24, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Cuban authorities for continuing to harass independent journalists and failing to provide adequate medical treatment for those in prison. Independent journalist Jorge Olivera Castillo, who was released from jail in December 2004 on medical parole, was ordered by a Havana municipal court on February 21…