Cuba:
Another imprisoned journalist on hunger
strike
Committee
to Protect Journalists.
New York, December 19, 2003-The Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned
about the health of imprisoned Cuban journalist
Ricardo González Alfonso, who has
been on a hunger strike for the last 12
days.
González Alfonso, who is jailed
at the Kilo 8 Prison in central Camagüey
Province, went on a hunger strike on December
8 to demand his transfer to another unit
within the prison where he can be with other
political prisoners, said his wife, independent
journalist Álida Viso Bello. As punishment
for the hunger strike, prison officials
placed González Alfonso in a small
cell with no running water that is lit 24
hours a day. He has been in this cell since
December 14.
In November, González Alfonso, who
was earlier put in solitary confinement
for seven months, was transferred to a cell
with common criminals, who have harassed
him. The journalist has high-blood pressure,
and this month, he had to be taken to a
hospital where doctors found two lumps in
his throat and recommended their removal.
While in the hospital, the journalist's
personal belongings were stolen. According
to Viso Bello, González Alfonso was
scheduled to return to the hospital today
to have the lumps removed.
On Wednesday, December 17, Viso Bello met
with her husband for an hour in the presence
of a prison official. Viso Bello, who did
not expect to be allowed to see her husband,
believes that she was able to meet with
him because prison officials thought she
could convince him to stop his hunger strike.
González Alfonso is the president
of the independent journalists' association
Sociedad de Periodistas Manuel Márquez
Sterling, founded in May 2001. His house,
which served as the offices of the association,
was raided on March 18 during a massive
government crackdown on the opposition and
the independent press.
During the last five months, several imprisoned
Cuban journalists have gone on hunger strikes
to demand better conditions. After learning
about the hunger strikes, other jailed journalists
have joined them in solidarity. Because
prison authorities have refused to allow
outside contact with the strikers or to
disclose information about them, their families
have been unable to check on their health.
As punishment for their involvement in the
strikes, the journalists have been dispersed
and transferred to other prisons.
The imprisoned journalists, who are being
held in maximum-security facilities and
are handcuffed any time they leave their
cells, have denounced unsanitary prison
conditions, inadequate medical attention,
solitary confinement, and lack of access
to the press and television. They have also
complained about receiving foul-smelling
and rotten food.
Crackdown in March
Twenty-nine independent Cuban journalists
were detained in the March crackdown on
the independent media and political opposition.
Their one-day trials were held in early
April behind closed doors. Some journalists
were tried under Article 91 of the Penal
Code, which imposes lengthy prison sentences
or death for those who act against "the
independence or the territorial integrity
of the State." Other journalists were
prosecuted for violating Law 88 for the
Protection of Cuba's National Independence
and Economy, which imposes up to 20 years
in prison for anyone who commits acts "aimed
at subverting the internal order of the
Nation and destroying its political, economic,
and social system."
On April 7, courts across the island announced
prison sentences for the journalists ranging
from 14 to 27 years. They remained imprisoned
in jails administered by the State Security
Department until April 24, when most were
sent to prisons located hundreds of miles
from their homes. In June, the People's
Supreme Tribunal, Cuba's highest court,
dismissed the appeals for annulment (recursos
de casación) filed in April by the
journalists and upheld their convictions.
© 2003 Committee to
Protect Journalists. Z
http://www.cpj.org
E-mail: info@cpj.org
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