July-December 2010 caselist - PEN International

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his arrest in 2003. Once jailed, Maseda continued to write about prisonconditions first hand. Publications: The first part of his memoir, EnterradosVivos (Buried Alive) was published in the United States in 2007,after the manuscript was smuggled out of prison one page at a time. Thebook, which Maseda intends to have three parts, has also reportedly beenpublished in the Caribbean and Western Europe. Honorary Member:Italian PEN.Blas Giraldo REYES RODRÍGUEZ: librarian (20 de Mayo Library,Sancti Spiritus) and member of the steering committee of the pro-democracyVarela Project, Sancti Spíritus. Date of birth: 7 August 1955.Sentence: 25 years. Expires: April 2028. Prison: Nieves Morejón,Sancti Spíritus. Charge: Law 88. Concerns: Reyes is said to suffer froma number of health complaints including arterial hypertension, arthrosis(a degenerative disease of the joints), diabetic neuropathy (a complicationof diabetes causing damage to the nerves) and gastritis and wasreportedly hospitalized in August 2008. Reyes has denounced prisonconditions on several occasions, including flooding and sanitary problems,severe overcrowding and lack of beds. Update: As of mid July2010, Reyes was reported to be one of the dissidents awaiting release andexile to Spain. However he was still detained as of 31 December 2010,reportedly because he has refused to go into exile. Honorary Member:Sydney PEN Centre.Imprisoned: other main caseAlbert Santiago DU BOUCHET HERNÁNDEZ: director and reporterof the Havana-based independent news agency Habana Press. Date ofarrest: 18 April 2009. Sentence: three years. Expires: 17 April 2012.Prison: Melena 2, south of Havana. Charge: “disrespect for authority”.Details of arrest and trial: Du Bouchet was arrested on 18 April 2009while visiting relatives in Artemisa, near Havana. The circumstances ofthe arrest are unclear but it understood that he was taken to the localpolice station after a verbal exchange with a police officer. The policehave claimed he was shouting anti-government slogans in the street. Hewas transferred to Melena 2 prison to the south of Havana on 10 May2009. On 12 May he was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of“disrespect for authority”. There were unconfirmed reports that he wasalso reportedly charged with “distributing enemy propaganda”, but it isnot known whether he was convicted of this charge. The trial was said tohave been summary and Du Bouchet was reportedly denied access to alawyer. He has appealed his sentence but it is thought unlikely that theappeal will be successful. His family had reportedly not been allowedto visit him since his arrest. One source indicated that Du Bouchet wasjailed in reprisal for his work, which includes reporting on social issues.Previous imprisonment: This is the second time Du Bouchet has beenimprisoned on “disrespect” charges. In August 2005 he was arrested afterattending the congress of the pro-democracy Assembly to Promote CivilSociety, summarily tried without access to a lawyer and sentenced toone year in prison. Du Bouchet was released in August 2006, havingserved the sentence in full. Recent information: On 14 June 2010, itwas reported that Du Bouchet had restricted telephone privileges due toalleged ill conduct but was in good spirits. He was reportedly due to betransferred to another prison. No further news as of 31 December 2010.Brief detention*Julio BELTRÁN IGLESIAS: independent journalist and spokespersonfor the Cuban Republican Party, was reportedly arrested and brieflydetained on 30 September 2010. He was taken to a police station wherehe was questioned for six hours, during which time he was reportedlythreatened in connection with his writing and political activities.*Luis Felipe ROJAS ROSABAL: poet, internet writer and dissident,was reportedly arrested by state security agents while on his way to abaptism in Guantánamo with his family on 27 November 2010. On 29November it was reported that he had been released by a police patrolsome 12 km from his village. He had previously been arrested at homeon 23 August along with another man and briefly detained; no reason wasgiven for the arrest.Released – exiledThe following seven writers were released between August and September2010 and sent to Spain following a deal brokered by the Catholic Churchand the Spanish government. (Eleven others were previously releasedunder the same deal in July 2010 – see previous case list for details; seeabove for details of release deal):Víctor Rolando ARROYO CARMONA: author, journalist (IndependentUnion of Independent Cuban Journalists and Writers - Unión dePeriodistas y Escritores de Cuba Independiente, UPECI, and Cubanet)and independent librarian (Reyes Magos Library). Date of birth: 23December 1951. Release: Released and arrived in Spain with his familyon 8 September 2010. Arroyo was sentenced to 26 years in prison underLaw 88 and Article 91. Honorary member: Finnish PEN.Juan Adolfo FERNÁNDEZ SAÍNZ: journalist (correspondent forindependent news agency Patria). Date of birth: 30 November 1948.Release: Released and arrived in Spain with his family on 20 August2010. Fernández was sentenced to 15 years in prison under Law 88 in2003. Honorary Member: Catalán PEN, English PEN.Miguel GALVÁN GUTIÉRREZ: journalist (Havana Press agency)and coordinator of the pro-democracy Varela Project; also said to be amechanical engineer. Year of birth: 12 January 1965. Release: Releasedand arrived in Spain on 25 September 2010. Galván said he had wantedto stay in Cuba but decided to leave for the sake of his family. He alsosaid he was still suffering from some health problems stemming fromhis time in prison. The journalist was sentenced to 26 years in prisonunder Article 91 and Law 88 in 2003. Honorary Member: Sydney PENCentre.José Miguel MARTÍNEZ HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (General JuanBruno Zayas Library), area representative for the unofficial politicalgroup Movimiento 24 de Febrero, and involved in the pro-democracyVarela project. Date of birth: 4 August 1963. Release: Released andarrived in Spain with his family on 24 September 2010. Martínez reportedlytold the media on arrival that “exile was our only alternative.” Hewas sentenced to 13 years in prison under Law 88 in 2003.Juan Carlos HERRERA ACOSTA: journalist (Eastern Free PressAgency - Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental or APLO). Release:Released and arrived in Spain with his family on 19 August 2010. Hewas sentenced to 20 years in prison under Law 88 in 2003. HonoraryMember: German PEN.Régis IGLESIAS RAMÍREZ: poet, writer and member of the prodemocracyMovimiento Cristiano Liberación (Christian LiberationMovement) and Varela Project. Date of birth: 18 September 1969.Release: Reportedly released on 17 August 2010, arrived in Madrid thenext day. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison under Article 91 in2003. Honorary Member: New Zealand PEN.Fabio PRIETO LLORENTE: freelance journalist and member of theAsamblea para la Sociedad Civil (Civil Society Assembly). Year of25
26birth: 11 March 1963. Release: Released and arrived in Spain withhis family on 19 August 2010. He was sentenced to 20 years in prisonunder Article 91 and Law 88 in 2003. Honorary Member: English PENCentre.Released – on expiry of sentenceRaymundo PERDIGÓN BRITO: d.o.b. 24 November 1965, founderof independent news agency Yayabo Press, Sancti Spíritus. Article 72(“social dangerousness”). Perdigón was arrested on charges on being a“pre-criminal danger to society” on 29 November 2006 after defying aState Security order to cease his journalistic activities, and was sentencedto four years in prison on 5 December 2006. He was released on 25November 2010 on expiry of his sentence.Ramón VELÁZQUEZ TORANSO: journalist for the independentnews agency Libertad. Velásquez was arrested on 23 January 2007together with his wife and daughter, both of whom were freed later thatday. He was sentenced to three years of supervised parole under Article72 (“social dangerousness”). Velásquez was released on 29 April 2010,more than three months after his sentence had expired.DOMINICAN REPUBLICThreatened*Fausto Rosario ADAMES: editor of weekly newspaper Clave, reportedlyreceived threats on 4 August 2010 following the publication of articleson drug trafficking activities in the country. Adames was warned thathe was at risk of being murdered due to his investigation into local corruptionlinked to drug trafficking. The same day, he told his co-workers atClave that he was shutting down both the print and electronic versionsof the newspaper. Adames and his colleagues have reportedly met thePresident to discuss the matter and to request protection measures.ECUADOROn trial*Juan ALCÍVAR RÍOS: correspondent of the newspaper Diario LaHora, was subject to multiple legal and physical attacks in the secondhalf of 2010. On 8 July he received a threat from unidentified personswho damaged his car and left him a note warning not to “screw withthe mayor”. Alcívar, who was covering the regional police command’srendering of accounts at the time, had not been threatened before. Hereported the threat to the police. On 20 August he was sentenced to apreventative prison sentence after a public prosecutor initiated legalproceedings against him for “terrorist aggression against public officials”.Alcívar was in hiding for nearly a month because of these proceedings andbecause he feared for his life. On 13 September, the judge substituted theprison sentence for a precautionary measure, ordering Alcívar to appearbefore the court every 15 days while the prosecutor investigates the case.On 17 September two public officials, the mayor of La Concordia anda municipal trustee, filed a private lawsuit against Alcívar accusing himof “terrorist aggression against public officials” in which they requestedhe should be “sanctioned with the maximum jail sentence” and paymentof heavy damages. In this new lawsuit, the journalist is accused of beingone of the people responsible for having thrown a teargas bomb thataffected President Rafael Correa when he was visiting the district on 19July. Alcívar was also accused of causing personal and material damagesand of “hatred” against the mayor and using the newspaper he works forto insult him. On 30 September, Alcívar was assaulted while carryingout his work by the trustee of the Municipality of La Concordia andanother man. On 26 November he was assaulted again and threatenedwith death, allegedly by the cousin of the mayor and three other menin La Concordia. He was with his children at the time. Alcívar did notknow that his assailant was related to the mayor of La Concordia until heheard him say he would “kill [him] if [he] continued to speak ill of hiscousin.” The assailant and the others fled after local residents intervenedto stop the attack. Alcívar reported the incident to the local police butbelieves their report was influenced by the fact that the mayor’s cousinwas involved. He thinks that the attack may have been provoked by hisinterviews earlier that day with people who were complaining about themayor’s absence during the celebration of the town’s anniversary.Peter TAVRA FRANCO: journalist for the newspaper Diario Universo,was sentenced to six months in prison on 15 January 2010 on defamationcharges and was also ordered to pay US$3,000 in damages. Thelawsuit stemmed from a February 2009 article in which Tavra describeda woman’s escape from a clinic after she was arrested for human trafficking.The woman in question claimed that the article had caused seriousdamage to her “good name and reputation” and sued. According to Tavra,the article was based on police documents that supported the information.A court of first instance originally dismissed the case. However, acourt of second instance declared the journalist guilty on appeal. Tavrafiled an appeal against the verdict on 22 January. No further news as of31 December 2010.Death threat/ Attacked*Guido Manolo CAMPAÑA: sports writer for the newspaper El Universo,was kidnapped, assaulted and threatened with death on 2 December 2010while he was investigating an alleged identity theft involving a Liga deQuito footballer in the coastal region of Esmeraldas. Campaña was onhis way to the town of Muisne when two gunmen stopped the bus inwhich he was travelling, warned the passengers not to intervene and, atgunpoint ordered Campaña to get off the bus at gunpoint and into a carwith two accomplices. The abductors took him to a house where theytied him up, beat him and threatened him, demanding that he reveal whogave him the information that led to his investigation. They destroyedCampaña’s camera, voice recorder, mobile phone and a notebook withall his notes about the investigation and warned him that they would killhim and attack his family if the investigation was made public. They lethim go six hours later, after reaching an agreement over the phone withEl Universo staff.Death threat*Holger GUERRERO: regular contributor to the online newspaper http://ecuadorinmediato.com/ and TV journalist, was reportedly threatenedwith death by unknown individuals who blocked his way while he wasin his car on 29 October 2010. In his programmes Guerrero had criticisedthe former police director during a police uprising on 30 September. Hesaid that he had also received death threats by telephone.Harassed*Juan Carlos CALDERON and Christian ZURITA: writers and journalists,respectively former editor and current investigations editor ofthe newspaper Diario Expresso. Both were reportedly subjected to aseries of discrediting comments and insults following the publicationof their book El Gran Hermano (Big Brother), which included an in-
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Page 7 and 8: HarassedLewis MEDJO: journalist and
Page 9 and 10: Isaac was reportedly being kept in
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Page 15 and 16: 14counts of defamation and “publi
Page 17 and 18: 16human rights abuses. Prison condi
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Page 23 and 24: 22COLOMBIAKilled: official investig
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Page 29 and 30: 28MEXICOKilled: motive unknown*Carl
Page 31 and 32: 30was reported that the Guerrero st
Page 33 and 34: 32Disappeared: presumed killedAlfre
Page 35 and 36: 34by drug traffickers. As of August
Page 37 and 38: 36of the State Electoral Institute
Page 39 and 40: 38tionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Page 41 and 42: 40ASIA and PacificAFGHANISTANDeath
Page 43 and 44: 42and performing subversion of stat
Page 45 and 46: 44years in prison Expires: 30 Septe
Page 47 and 48: 46ment in prison: International att
Page 49 and 50: 48ties’ and was held at a detenti
Page 51 and 52: 50tuberculosis and was transferred
Page 53 and 54: 52a brain haemorrhage caused by dia
Page 55 and 56: 54505 (b) of the Penal Code ad sect
Page 57 and 58: 56Attacked*Bingun Menaka GAMAGE: Re
Page 59 and 60: 58NGUYEN Van TinhD.o.b: 1943 Profes
Page 61 and 62: 60Vietnamese nationalities. Reporte
Page 63 and 64: 62ordered that for the next two mon
Page 65 and 66: 64long-expired meat). They began pu
Page 67 and 68: 662010, he was charged with organis
Page 69 and 70: 68had fled Russia and was believed
Page 71 and 72: 70AttackedTeofil PANCIC: Political
Page 73 and 74: 72Sweden, Belgium and the UK, where
Page 75 and 76: 74Mujde AR, Erdem BUYUK, Mustafa AR
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76that he would appeal. He is said
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78dealing with the conflict and his
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80“insulting the military” for
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82reported that on 31 August 2006,
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84ALGERIAMiddle East andNorth Afric
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86*Ibrahim ISSA: Editor of the dail
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88of the Kurdish-Persian weekly jou
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90sentence was reduced on appeal to
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92in September and October 2004, an
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94Non custodial sentenceAli AMAR: j
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96no signs of a break-in. A paper p
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YEMENImprisoned: investigation*Abdu
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San Miguel de Allende PENChinaScott
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July-December 2010 caselist - PEN International

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