Laura Pollán Toledo, who rallied the wives of jailed Cuban dissidents, dies at 63
The CPJ remembers Cuban human rights advocate Laura Pollán Toledo who died in Havana on Friday. Founding the Ladies in White after the arrest of her husband, journalist Hector Maseda Gutiérrez during the Cuban government’s 2003 Black Spring crackdown on the press and dissent, Pollán worked endlessly for justice. Earlier this year she was rewarded…
Recalling Laura Pollán, leader of Cuba’s Ladies in White
Cuban human rights defender Laura Pollán, who died Friday from respiratory complications at a Havana hospital, fought a mighty battle against the Cuban government for almost a decade. Pollán, 63, leaves behind her husband, the award-winning independent journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, and a daughter. She also leaves a legacy of determination, courage, and creativity. Her…
Assisting journalists in Cuba: Hurdles in prison and beyond
In mid-2006, CPJ’s Journalist Assistance program began sending regular remittances to the families of independent Cuban journalists in prison. By CPJ’s count, of the 29 journalists jailed during a massive crackdown in 2003, 24 were still in prison at the time–making Cuba the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists in the world. The remittances, sent monthly,…
Ending dark era, Cuba frees last jailed journalist
New York, April 8, 2011–The Cuban government on Thursday released the last journalist remaining in its prisons, ending a dark, eight-year-long era in which the island nation was one of the world’s worst jailers of the press, at one time imprisoning nearly 30 independent reporters and writers. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed relief today…
A not so dark Cuban Black Spring anniversary
March 18 is not a day we usually look forward to at CPJ. On this day in 2003, the Cuban government launched a massive crackdown on the independent press resulting in the jailing of 29 reporters. But this year we have reason to feel encouraged. On March 4, with the release of Pedro Argüelles Morán,…
Last Black Spring reporter freed; one still jailed in Cuba
New York, March 7, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Cuban independent journalist Pedro Argüelles Morán on Friday, and calls on Cuban authorities to eliminate all conditions on his freedom. Argüelles Morán, at left, was the last of 29 reporters arrested during a 2003 massive government crackdown on dissent to be allowed…
After ‘trial by fire,’ Cuba’s Maseda back to journalism
Almost three weeks after being released from jail following eight years of inhumane treatment in Cuba’s infamous prison system, CPJ’s 2008 International Press Freedom award winner Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez said he is committed to going back to independent journalism. “That’s my will, and I have decided to do it here in Havana,” Maseda said in…
Journalist released on parole, allowed to stay in Cuba
New York, February 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Cuban authorities today to place no conditions on the release of journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, who was freed on parole Saturday. Maseda Gutiérrez is a founding member of the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro and a winner of CPJ’s International Press Freedom…
Cuba’s Maseda Gutiérrez balks at conditions for freedom
New York, February 11, 2011–The Catholic Church in Havana announced today that jailed Cuban journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, a CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee, at left, would be released after nearly eight years behind bars. But news reports, including one citing the journalist’s wife, said Maseda Gutiérrez has balked at conditions placed on his release…