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Committee to Protect
Journalists.
New York, March 29, 2002-Cuban independent journalist and CPJ International
Press Freedom awardee Jesús Joel Díaz Hernández has left
Cuba for the United
States, where he has been granted political asylum.
Díaz Hernández arrived in the United States on March 21 and
has settled in Fort Worth, Texas.
Díaz Hernández, formerly the executive director of the
independent news agency Cooperativa Avileña de Periodistas Independientes
(CAPI), served two years in prison under degrading conditions after a 1999 sham
trial in which he was convicted of "dangerousness," a crime unknown
outside Cuba.
In November 1999, CPJ honored Díaz Hernández with an
International Press Freedom Award. In January 2001, after having served half of
his prison term, Díaz Hernández was released. He immediately
returned to work for CAPI.
Among the reasons Díaz Hernández cited for his departure for
exile were the harassment he was constantly subjected to after going back to his
work as an independent journalist and the "imminence of jail."
"It's a difficult moment because I have left behind other colleagues
who are going through hard times," Díaz Hernández told CPJ.
Díaz Hernández is one of many journalists who have left Cuba
in recent years because of official harassment and threats against them and
their families. According to estimates by Cuban journalists, about 50
independent journalists have left the island since 1995, the year that for many
marks the emergence of the independent press in Cuba.
In Cuba all media is state-owned and is largely charged with spreading the
official views of the Cuban government. Independent journalists, who try to
cover issues that are neglected by the official press, usually file their
reports by phone to radio stations and Web sites based in Miami and Spain.
In some cases, the Cuban government has denied exit permits to journalists
who have already obtained a visa to travel to other countries. Other journalists
invited abroad are allowed to leave Cuba only if they promise never to return.
As a political refugee, Díaz Hernández has effectively no chance
of returning to Cuba under the current regime.
One Cuban journalist remains in jail as of today. Bernardo Arévalo
Padrón, a journalist who was jailed in 1997 for "disrespecting"
Cuban president Fidel Castro Ruz and Cuban State Council member Carlos Lage,
continues to be held in a labor camp despite being eligible for parole. His
health has suffered as a result of his prolonged imprisonment.
For more information about press freedom conditions in Cuba, 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 - Researcher/investigador
The Americas Program/Programa de las Américas/Programa das Américas
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Comité para la Protección
de los Periodistas (CPJ)
Comitê para a Proteção dos
Jornalistas (CPJ)
330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001
Phone/teléfono/telefone: 212-465-9344 ext. 118
Fax: 212-465-9568
Web site/Internet: www.cpj.org | 
