Published on 2 May 2007
1 February 2010 - Dissident journalist arrested in Holguín as freedom to inform is stalled
16 October 2009 - Doctor and journalist starts hunger strike after 80 days in preventive detention as clampdown continues
25 September 2009 - Editor of online newspaper Candonga released after two weeks in custody
Fidel Castro passed the reins of power to his younger brother Raúl, the defence minister, five days after falling ill on 26 July 2006 and undergoing a major operation. Formally confirmed as President of the Council of State on 24 February 2008, Raúl has not behaved much better than his brother as regards human rights, despite a few cautious hints of a possible opening. The so-called transition period saw continued harassment of independent journalists including police brutality, summonses and searches by State Security (the political police) and detention for short periods. Nineteen of the journalists arrested during the March 2003 “Black Spring” continue to serve jail terms ranging from 14 to 27 years in appalling prison conditions. A 20th journalist has been held without trial since 2005. Three others have been imprisoned since Raúl took over on charges of “pre-crime social dangerousness.” With a total of 23 journalists detained, Cuba is the world’s second biggest prison for the media, after China.
Miguel Galván Gutiérrez was arrested in March 2003 during an unprecedented crackdown launched by the Cuban government and sentenced to 26 years in prison after being found guilty of being a "mercenary in the service of a foreign power".
