SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN ABOUT JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST JOURNALISTS IN CUBA
The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Eduardo Bertoni, expresses grave concern about the judicial proceedings instituted against Cuban journalists Raul Ramon Rivero Castaneda and Ricardo Severino Gonzalez Alfonso for allegedly engaging in "subversive activities aimed at affecting the independence and territorial integrity of the Cuban state." Prosecutor Miguel Angel Moreno Carpio indicted the two journalists and requested that, if the journalists are found guilty, Gonzalez be sentenced to life in prison and that Rivero be sentenced to 20 years in prison. According to information received by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, the trials are due to begin today, April 4, 2003.
The institution of judicial proceedings against the two journalists arises in the context of a wave of detentions and trials of dissidents, including numerous independent journalists. Between March 18 and March 24, more than 70 dissidents, including Gonzalez and Rivero and at least 20 other independent journalists, were arrested. The Special Rapporteur issued a press release on March 20, expressing his concern about this wave of repression. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the judicial proceedings instituted against journalists Gonzalez and Rivero, and other Cuban dissidents, are directly linked to their activities related to their exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information. Article IV of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man asserts that “every person has the right to freedom of investigation, of opinion, and of the expression and dissemination of ideas, by any medium whatsoever."
The Special Rapporteur urges the Cuban authorities once again to change their position regarding the independent press and to allow all inhabitants the right to freedom of expression and information. The Office of the Rapporteur has previously expressed concern regarding the state of the right to freedom of expression in Cuba on numerous occasions. In 1999, the Special Rapporteur condemned the convictions of four dissidents for sedition (press release no. 05/99). In September, 2000, he repudiated the detention of Swedish journalists (press release no. 31/00). In March, 2003, he repudiated the detention of Cuban journalists (press release no. 72/03). In the Annual Report of the Rapporteurship 2002, Bertoni stated the following: “Cuba continues to be a concern for the Office of the Special Rapporteur due to the absence of a pluralistic democracy, which translates in practice as a systematic violation of freedom of expression. The legal system places countless restrictions on the ability to disseminate and receive information. Moreover, tactics of intimidation and repression are used to put further pressure on journalists and dissidents to prevent them from criticizing the government.”
Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression
April 4, 2003
Washington, D.C.