Cuba: Blogger released from jail

May 18th, 2010

On 14 May, a Cuban appeal court reduced a blogger’s 20 months jail sentence to a fine of 300 pesos (12 dollars). Dania Virgen, who writes El Blog de Dania, was charged with abuse of authority for mistreating her 23-year-old daughter, who disapproved of her political activism. Yoani Sánchez has published an article and video interview with Dania Virgen on her blog.

Cuba: Blogger sentenced to 20 months in prison

April 28th, 2010

An independent journalist and blogger has been sentenced to 20 months in prison on charges that had not yet been made known. Dania Virgen García was sentenced just one day after her arrest by police on 22 April. Virgen García’s blog El blog de Dania, launched in January, reports on the violence and repression independent reporters face on the island. She is also a well known supporter of the “Damas de blanco” movement (Ladies in White).

Cuban government denies journalists visas

November 20th, 2009

On 12 November, Cuban authorities refused to issue visas for 15 international journalists hoping to report on the Global Forum for Health Research in Havana from 16-20 November. International journalism organisation Media 21, based in Switzerland, had selected 15 journalists from countries including Guatemala, Brazil, Spain, Uganda, France and the United States to cover the event and participate in a series of workshops. According to the Cuban Embassy in Berne, the Foreign Ministry in Havana decided not to issue visas to journalists wishing to participate in the Media 21 programme, which seeks to promote quality reporting of key global issues through specially tailored workshops and field trips. ( World Federation of Science Journalists) Read more

Cuban bloggers under attack

November 16th, 2009

An alleged assault on Generación Y’s Yoani Sánchez demonstrates the Castro regime’s fear of free expression on the web. Nick Caistor reports
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Obama calls on Cuba to release political prisoners

July 24th, 2009

US President Barack Obama has called upon the Cuban government to free all of its political prisoners. The US President issued the statement while maintaining that he would like closer US-Cuban relations in the future if the communist country takes steps towards democracy. Read more here

Cuban photographer held in unknown location

June 19th, 2009

Cuban photojournalist Maria Nelida Lopez Baez has been arrested and is being held at an unknown location on the communist-ruled island. The journalist faces possible persecution for “pre-criminal social danger,” the Paris-based organisation  Reporters Without Borders says. Read more here

Microsoft block MSN Messenger in Cuba

June 2nd, 2009

Cuba has criticised Microsoft  for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington’s “harsh” treatment of Havana. Read more here

Cuban journalist in second week of hunger strike

May 29th, 2009

Cuban journalist Victor Rolando Arroyo is in his second week of hunger strike as a protest to lack of medical attention, bad sanitary conditions in his cell, his cruel treatment, and the fact that he has not been allowed to practice religion. Arroyo was sentenced in April 2003 to 26 years in prison for acting “against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state”. Read more here