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opinionAlso in this section: Open letter to Fidel Castro Dozens of Latin American writers join CPJ in urging Castro to release jailed colleagues by the Committee to Protect Journalists and many Latin American journalist and writers March 16, 2005 Fidel Castro Ruz President of the Councils of State and Ministers Republic of Cuba c/o Cuban Interests Section in the United States of America 2630 16th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 Via facsimile: (202) 797-8521 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists, together with the following 108 Latin American journalists and writers, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned Cuban journalists. We further demand that the sentences of six journalists released on medical parole be annulled. With 23 imprisoned journalists, Cuba remains one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, second only to China. The journalists have been jailed since March 2003, when the Cuban government arrested them as the world's attention was focused on the war in Iraq. Two weeks after their detentions, the journalists were tried summarily—their trials lasted one day—behind closed doors, and they were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years. Although the Cuban government has labeled them "mercenaries," an analysis of trial documents shows that the journalists' work was within the parameters of the legitimate exercise of free expression established under international human rights standards. The imprisoned journalists have reported unsanitary prison conditions and inadequate medical care. They have also complained of receiving rotten food. Unlike the general prison population, most journalists are only allowed family visits every three months and marital visits every four months. Their relatives have been harassed for talking to the foreign press, protesting the journalists' incarceration, and gathering signatures calling for their release. Those journalists who were ill before being jailed have seen their health worsen in prison and have been transferred to hospitals or prison infirmaries, while others have developed new illnesses. Some journalists went on hunger strikes during 2004 to protest their conditions. Because prison authorities refused to allow outside contact with the strikers or to disclose information about them, their families were unable to monitor their health. Between June and December 2004, Cuban authorities released six journalists on medical parole. One released journalist, Carmelo Díaz Fernández, was warned that he would be sent back to prison if he recovered from his illnesses—or if he did not maintain "good behavior." In late 2004, the remaining jailed journalists were transferred to prison hospitals in Havana, ostensibly for medical checkups. The transfers came as Cuba resumed formal diplomatic contacts with Spain in a possible precursor to normalizing relations with the European Union. The circumstances fueled speculation that additional releases were imminent, but all 23 were returned to their prisons. Most jailed journalists are far from their homes, adding to the heavy burden on their families. The imprisonment of these journalists in reprisal for their independent reporting violates the most basic norms of international law, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees everyone "the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." As writers and journalists in Latin America, we earn our livelihoods by gathering and disseminating information and, in some cases, expressing our opinions. We believe that our activities benefit the societies in which we live and that our right to freedom of expression is protected by international law. For the Cuban government to arbitrarily abrogate this right is an affront to human dignity. We urge the Cuban government to respect international law by allowing journalists to work freely, without fear of reprisal.
Ann Cooper Executive Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
Argentina Tomás Eloy Martínez Andew Graham-Yooll Roberto Guareschi Mabel Moralejo Joaquín Morales Solá Mario Diament Nelson Castro Alfredo Leuco Daniel Santoro Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú Jorge Elías Fernando Ruiz James Neilson Mónica Gutiérrez Miguel Wiñazki José Ignacio López Daniel Muchnik Santiago O'Donnell Gabriel Michi Ana Barón Sergio Carreras Darío Gallo
Bolivia Raúl Peñaranda Undurraga Juan Carlos Rocha
Brazil Geraldinho Vieira Lúcio Flávio Pinto Rosental Calmon Alves
Chile Faride Zerán Abraham Santibáñez Alejandra Matus Mónica González Juan Pablo Cárdenas Squella Claudia Lagos María Olivia Mönckeberg Patricia Verdugo Alberto Luengo Patricio Fernández
Colombia María Jimena Duzán Antonio Caballero Ignacio Gómez Germán Rey Marta Ruiz Heriberto Fiorillo Juliana Cano Antonio Melo Darío Fernando Patiño Nora Sanín Juan Manuel Ruiz Guillermo Puyana Jorge Cardona Jaime Abello Banfi Hernando Corral Javier Darío Restrepo María Teresa Ronderos María Isabel Cerón Fernando Alonso Alvaro Sierra
Costa Rica Eduardo Ulibarri Armando González Mauricio Herrera
Dominican Republic Fausto Rosario Adames
Ecuador Miguel Rivadaneira
El Salvador Jaime López
Guatemala José Rubén Zamora
Haiti Michele Montas Jean Roland Chery
Honduras Thelma Mejía
Mexico Carlos Fuentes Elena Poniatowska Jorge Zepeda Patterson Rossana Fuentes J. Jesús Blancornelas Angeles Mastretta Homero Aridjis Francisco Martín Moreno Ernesto Villanueva Pedro Armendares Federico Reyes Heroles Laura Esquivel Carlos Monsiváis Gerardo Albarrán
Nicaragua Carlos F. Chamorro Sergio Ramírez
Panama Miguel Antonio Bernal Marcos Castillo Rolando Rodríguez Guillermo Sánchez Borbón Brittmarie Janson Pérez
Paraguay Benjamín Fernández Bogado
Peru Ricardo Uceda Gustavo Gorriti Enrique Zileri Mirko Lauer Kela León Cecilia Valenzuela Edmundo Cruz Guido Lombardi Santiago Pedraglio
Uruguay Claudio Paolillo Nelson Fernández Tomás Linn Mónica Bottero Alfonso Lessa Alvaro Giz
Venezuela Teodoro Petkoff Andrés Cañizalez Ewald Scharfenberg
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