Independent journalist detained in eastern Cuba

Independent journalist detained in eastern Cuba
June 23, 2017 5:12 PM ET

New York, June 23, 2017--Cuban authorities should immediately release
independent journalist Manuel Alejandro León Velázquez and return his
equipment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. State
security forces and Interior Ministry officials detained León Velázquez
around 4 p.m. yesterday in the eastern province of Guantánamo, according
to his news website Diario de Cuba and the Cuban Institute for Freedom
of Expression and the Press.

The journalist's neighbor, Isael Poveda, told Diario de Cuba that he saw
authorities arrive at León Velázquez's home with an order to confiscate
"counter-revolutionary" equipment. According to Poveda, who is an
opposition activist, police arrested León Velázquez and took a computer,
a Sony camera, a copy of the Cuban constitution, and work documents from
the journalist's home. CPJ was unable to determine what documents were
confiscated.

"Independent journalists in Cuba should be able to work without the
constant threat of arbitrary detention," said CPJ Senior Program
Coordinator for the Americas Carlos Lauría. "Cuban authorities should
release Manuel Alejandro León Velázquez and return his equipment
immediately."

León Velázquez covers general news in Guantánamo and other eastern Cuban
states for the independent news website Diario de Cuba. Normando
Hernández, director of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and
the Press, told CPJ today the organization is aware of the case, and has
spoken with León Velázquez's editor, who confirmed the arrest.

León Velázquez has been detained on several occasions, including in
October 2016 while reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, and
in February 2017, when police detained him for two hours at a checkpoint
on the border between Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba province, Diario
de Cuba reported.

A September 2016 CPJ special report on press freedom in Cuba found that
independent journalists there continue to face the threat of arbitrary
detention, and that vague and outdated laws and limitations on internet
access continue to slow progress on press freedom.

Source: Independent journalist detained in eastern Cuba - Committee to
Protect Journalists -
https://cpj.org/2017/06/independent-journalist-detained-in-eastern-cuba.php