February 9, 2011
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
President of the Government of Spain
Palacio de La Moncloa
Madrid, Spain
Via facsímile: 34-913- 900-217
Dear President Rodríguez Zapatero:
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that the Cuban
government has yet to fulfill its promise to free all journalists
imprisoned during the 2003 crackdown on dissent. We urge your
government, which was a key party to the agreement to release the
prisoners by November 2010, to hold President Raúl Castro to his word.
We are further concerned by reports last week that imprisoned
journalists Pedro Argüelles Morán and Albert Santiago Du Bouchet
Hernández have initiated a hunger strike to call attention to their
continued incarceration and that of other political prisoners.
Argüelles, 63, who has been in prison since 2003, is in poor health.
After negotiations between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church,
President Castro's administration agreed on July 7, 2010, to release
"within three to four months," all 52 prisoners who were still jailed
from the 2003 crackdown, the church said in a statement issued that day.
Your government played an important role in facilitating those talks.
Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos announced
the same month that "the agreement with the Cuban authorities is that
all political prisoners will be released from prison."
CPJ welcomed the subsequent release of 17 journalists, and wishes to
thank you and your government for your sustained efforts in securing the
freedom of the journalists and in offering them safe harbor in Spain
with their families.
However, with nine of the 52 political prisoners still behind bars three
months after the deadline for their release, the Cuban government has so
far failed to fulfill its commitment.
These detainees have expressed a desire to stay in Cuba upon release and
have refused immediate deportation to Spain, the reporters' families
told CPJ. Exile from the island was not stated as a condition of the
Cuban government's agreement to release political prisoners; however,
CPJ research indicates that all of 17 freed journalists were immediately
flown to Spain with their families. (At least three have since
relocated, one to Chile and two to the United States.)
In July, Moratinos announced in the Spanish parliament that Spain would
receive "free people who freely choose to come to Spain," but noted that
"the commitment we have from Raúl Castro is that [former prisoners]
would be able to return to the island." On Friday, a dissident
imprisoned during the 2003 crackdown, Guido Sigler, was permitted to
remain in Cuba upon his release, the BBC reported. While CPJ considers
this a positive development, President Castro should respect his
commitment to release all political prisoners without exile as a condition.
Those still jailed from the 2003 crackdown include three journalists:
Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Iván Hernández Carrillo, and Pedro Argüelles
Morán, all of whom suffer chronic health problems. CPJ has also called
for the release of Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández, who was jailed
in 2009 on charges of "disrespect" and distribution of enemy propaganda.
Du Bouchet Hernández, who is serving a three-year sentence, has been
subjected to beatings in prison. (Detailed capsule reports on each
detained journalist are available on CPJ's website.)
Three months have passed since the November deadline for Cuban
authorities to free the remaining dissidents. Without signs of an
imminent release, the journalists in prison are putting their health in
jeopardy to draw attention to their plight. The extended delay in their
release not only undermines Cuba's credibility; it erodes Spain's
grounds for calling on the European Union states to normalize relations
with Cuba. CPJ urges you to press President Castro to release all jailed
journalists without further delay.
Thank you for your attention on this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Joel Simon
Executive Director
http://cpj.org/2011/02/press-cuba-to-keep-promise-to-free-journalists.php
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