Thinking Upstream

Journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, one of 22 independent journalists imprisoned in Cuba, is on hunger strike, according to “Cuban journalist in second week of hunger strike.” María Salazar Ferro reports that Rolando went on hunger strike on 15th May 2009 to protest: lack of medical attention, bad sanitary conditions in his cell, cruel treatment, and the fact that he has not been allowed to practice religion.  Rolando’s photo is from Imprisoned Journalists in Cuba, which reports that he has been imprisoned in Cuba since 18th March 2003, and is serving a 26 year sentence.  Ironically, Cuba was home to Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), one of the world’s best known journalists, and the Hemingway Museum on Cuba is a popular tourist attraction. “Latin America’s Brave New World:Cuba gets a vote of confidence from the OAS” criticises the recent addition of Cuba to the OAS (Organization of American States). Inclusion of a repressive Marxist-Leninist state into the OAS stretches the meaning of the word “democracy”. Organisations which report on threats to journalists and press freedom include the RSF and The World Association of Newspapers, which organises a World Press Freedom Day initiative to draw attention to the role of independent news and information in society, and how it is under attack. In this 11 June 2009 post, “Intervencion en la 11° Sesion del Consejo de los Derechos Humanos“, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo appeals to the UN Human Rights Council for the hundreds of known political prisoners suffering in Cuba.

(This blog “Thinking Upstream” is based on various online news articles and photos that draw attention to some of the bloggers and journalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries.)

Another independent journalist, Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet has been imprisoned in Cuba. “Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 5/17/09“, as reported in the blog Uncommon Sense. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison for “disrespect,” one of the Orwellian catch-all “crimes” the dictatorship uses to try to silence and punish those who oppose it, according to this RSF article. The organisation English PEN, supporting writers around the world, protests his arrest, and reports that he was denied a fair trial and access to a lawyer.