LAS TUNAS, February 16 (Ramón Colás, Cuba Press) - Officers of the Department of State Security threatened dissident Jorge Luis González Tanquero with the application of Law 88, also known as the 'gag law,' which could net him up to 20 years in jail for divulging news
antagonistic to the government through the independent press.
It wasn't immediately apparent whether the threat reflected official government policy or an attempt by these particular officers in eastern Cuba to intimidate the dissident. González is under investigation for the alleged theft of a boat in 1998 and has been reporting details of the case
as it unfolds to the independent press.
All parties are in agreement that González and seven others, all members of the Democratic Solidarity Party, attempted to leave Cuba by boat in 1998. Eventually they were intercepted and returned to the island by the Jamaican Coast Guard.
The activists maintain that they paid 32,000 pesos for the boat and that there were two witnesses to the transaction, the owner of the boat and a maritime inspection officer. The owner of the boat still lives in the province, but the officer, one Jesús Padrón, committed suicide
when police started investigating the case.
The government is investigating whether the boat and the fuel used in the escape attempt were stolen. The dissidents claim the authorities, stung by their political activism, is seeking to jail them as common criminals.
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