Two independent journalists detained after workshop

HAVANA, Cuba, May 28 (Frank Correa / www.cubanet.org) - Two independent journalists were detained separately by State Security agents after attending a workshop last week at the U.S. Interests Section.

David Águila was stopped by two agents at 3:30 p.m. on May 21 and taken to a nearby park where he was questioned and released. The agents took a copy of El Nuevo Herald of Miami that he was carrying as well as some papers.

An hour later, Reinier Vera was detained by agents who took him to the police station in Párraga for questioning. The police said they were planning a “pretty surprise on graduation day” for the journalists.

Independent journalist detained by State Security agents

HAVANA, Cuba, August 24 (Yudelmis Fonseca Rondón, www.cubanet.org) Independent journalist Ismary Salomón Carcasés says she was detained last week by two State Security agents who questioned her for three hours in an “extremely cold” room at police headquarters.

Salomón Carcasés said she was leaving the offices of the College of Independent Teachers of Cuba at 7:30 PM August 19 whens he was detained by agents named Ricardo and Omar. She said two magazines she carried were seized, Disidente and Misceláneas de Cuba.

March 17 2009

Imprisoned journalist feels at times he’s dying

HAVANA, Cuba, March 17 (Tania Maceda / www.cubanet.org) - Independent journalist Normando Hernández, serving a 25-year prison sentence for his anti-government writing, says his health is deteriorating and at times he feels he’s about to die.

Hernández was returned to the Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey at the end of February after spending a month at the Carlos J. Finlay Hospital in Havana. He said none of the promised tests were carried out there.

Feb. 20 2009

2 aspiring journalists detained by police

HAVANA, Cuba, February 20 (Ana Aguililla / www.cubanet.org) Two independent journalists were detained by police for three hours on Wednesday after attending a videoconference workshop at the U.S. Interests Section.

Reynier Vera, a member of the Juvenile Martiana Coalition, identified the two as coalition member Heriberto Liranza and Rafael Martínez of the New Republic Movement. He said the police confiscated T-shirts they were wearing and wrist bands which carried the letting “Cambio” (Change), a popular phrase used by dissidents. They were told the police would be on the lookout for them in the future.

Blogger contest reflects 'vibrant' blogosphere in Cuba

Cuban bloggers sent Twitter messages to announce the winners of their first-ever contest -- two milestones in a country where a report Thursday said a ``vibrant'' blogosphere is emerging despite ``vast legal and technical obstacles.''

``We're pretty happy to have achieved all this,'' said a clearly ecstatic Reynaldo Escobar, a blogger and contest judge. ``None of this, none of it, has ever been done in Cuba.''

Both the tweets and contest prizes were landmarks for Cuban bloggers, described in a report by the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as ``mainly young adults . . . [who] have opened a new space for free expression in Cuba, while offering a fresh glimmer of hope for the rebirth of independent ideas in Cuba's closed system.''