Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez

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Pollán leads the Ladies in White in March 2011. (AP/Javier Galeano)

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…

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Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez walks free with his wife (right), while followed by government supporters jeering his release. (Reuters/Desmond Boylan)

Cuban journalist survives ‘hell’ and emerges ready to fight

On March 18, 2003, our people endured one of the worst episodes in Cuba’s history. The peaceable political dissident community, human rights defenders, trade unionists, and independent journalists, along with representatives of the emergent and democratic civil society–74 men and one woman–were the victims of the most absolute, merciless, and cruel government power.

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Pollán and Maseda, their love still rooted, are together again. (AP/Franklin Reyes)

A new spring, and a couple’s devotion blossoms anew

When I wake up and sense my husband’s body next to mine, I ask myself if I’m dreaming or if it is true that he has returned to our home.Eight years have passed since 75 Cubans were uprooted from their homes for thinking differently than the governmental discourse and having the courage to express it…

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Maseda holds a document proving his release from prison next to his wife, Laura Pollán. (AP/Franklin Reyes)

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…

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Freed journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez embraces his wife, Laura Pollán, leader of Cuban dissident group Ladies in White, in his home in Havana. (AP/Franklin Reyes)

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…

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Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez

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…

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Press Cuba to keep promise to free journalists

Dear President Rodríguez Zapatero: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that the Cuban government has yet to fulfill its promise to free all journalists imprisoned during the 2003 crackdown on dissent. We urge your government, which was a key party to the agreement to release the prisoners by November 2010, to hold President Raúl Castro to his word.

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Fariñas on his most recent hunger strike. (EPA)

CPJ holds Cuba responsible for welfare of jailed journalists

New York, March 4, 2010—A week after the death of jailed Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a journalist on a hunger strike is seriously ill while health conditions of imprisoned reporters remain dire. As the seventh anniversary of the massive crackdown on dissidents approaches on March 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists renews its call for the Cuban…

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Attacks on the Press 2009: Cuba

Top Developments • Vibrant blogging culture emerges despite severe Internet restrictions.• Jailed journalists suffer amid inhumane conditions. Key Statistic 22: Reporters and editors in jail as of December 1. Cuba was hit hard by the global economic crisis and endured an upheaval in its highest offices, but state-controlled news media delivered superficial and skewed coverage.…

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Jailed Cuban journalist protests inhumane conditions

Fabio Prieto Llorente, one of 21 independent journalists jailed in Cuba, has been outspoken in describing the inhumane and unsanitary conditions in which he and others have been held. On Wednesday, he began a hunger strike to call attention to the situation at El Guayabo Prison in the western Isla de la Juventud province, the…

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