CPJ calls for immediate release of
journalist who reported facts but was jailed anyway
New York, June 26, 2001 --- The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling
for the immediate and unconditional release of José Orlando González
Bridón, a Cuban journalist and labor activist who was recently sentenced
to two years in jail for distributing "false information."
In a letter sent today to President Fidel Castro, CPJ condemned the unjust
prosecution of González Bridón, one of two Cuban journalists
currently incarcerated for their work. The other prisoner, Bernardo Arévalo
Padrón, has been in jail since 1997 for showing "contempt" for
Castro and for Cuban
State Council member Carlos Lage.
Cuba is currently the only country in the Western hemisphere where
journalists are in prison because of their professional activities.
González Bridón has been incarcerated in the Combinado del
Este prison, east of Havana, since December 15, 2000. In early April 2001, the
government prosecutor charged him under Article 103 of the Cuban Penal Code and
asked the court for a seven-year jail sentence. Article 103 says that any
individual can be jailed for one to 15 years for "inciting against the
social order, international solidarity, or the socialist State, through oral or
written propaganda, or in any other form," or for "spreading false
news or malicious predictions tending to cause alarm or discontent among the
population, or public disorder."
González Bridón has been writing for the Miami-based Cuba Free
Press Web site since October 1999. An electronics engineer by trade, he also
serves as the secretary general of the Confederation of Cuban Democratic Workers
(CTDC), an illegal trade union.
Charges change as facts emerge González Bridón was originally
charged with spreading false information regarding the death of a fellow labor
activist in a domestic abuse case. An article by the journalist posted to the
Cuba Free Press site on August 5, 2000, reported that CTDC national coordinator
Joanna González Herrera had been attacked by her ex-husband, and that
Cuban police had failed to prevent her death.
During González Bridón's trial, which was held behind closed
doors on May 24, his lawyer argued that Joanna González Herrera had
reported her ex-husband's threats to the police and was subsequently murdered by
him. González Bridón reported these facts accurately, and
therefore could not be accused of spreading false news. His attorney also argued
that because ordinary Cubans lack access to the Internet, the journalist could
not have caused alarm or discontent among the population through his work, which
was published online. He then requested González Bridón's
immediate and unconditional release.
But the state prosecutor's response was to change the charges against González
Bridón to "defamation of the institutions, heroes, and martyrs of
the homeland" under Article 204 of the Penal Code, and to request a
one-year prison sentence.
In early June, despite the new charge, González Bridón was
found guilty of distributing "false information for the purpose of
disturbing the international peace, or to endanger the prestige or credibility
of the Cuban State or its good relations with another State" (a criminal
offense under Article 115 of the Penal Code). His sentence was increased to two
years imprisonment.
Under Cuban sentencing regulations, a one-year prison term would have led to
González Bridón's release on June 15, since he would have been
eligible for parole after serving half his sentence. In cases involving
political dissidents, it is not uncommon for Cuban courts to pass longer
sentences than those sought by prosecutors.
On June 8, a prison warden gave González Bridón a written copy
of the sentence. On June 13, González Bridón's lawyer filed an
appeal for annulment (recurso de casación) on procedural grounds.
In her letter to Castro, CPJ executive director Ann Cooper wrote, "González
Bridón's unjust prosecution and imprisonment constitute a violation of
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that
'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'"
The letters calls on Castro to do everything within his power "to
ensure that the appeal for annulment is granted and González Bridón
is immediately and unconditionally released."
CPJ also called for the immediate release of the independent journalist
Bernardo Arévalo Padrón, who has been imprisoned since 1997 for
showing "contempt" for Castro and for Cuban State Council member
Carlos Lage. Arévalo Padrón is currently in the labor camp El
Diamante, in Cienfuegos, despite being eligible for parole, and his health has
suffered as a result of his prolonged imprisonment.
For more information about press freedom conditions in Cuba, and to read
CPJ's protest letter to President Castro, visit <www.cpj.org>.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom around the world.
Sauro González Rodríguez
The Americas Program Researcher
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-465-9344 ext. 118
Fax: 212-465-9568
Web site: www.cpj.org | 
