WHEREAS, there continues to be an unrelenting censorship and repression of civil protests and against groups critical of the regime that holds power on the island
WHEREAS, freedom of the press has been marked in recent months by protests, repudiation rallies against dissidents and television campaigns against civil society, and there is generalized discontent with the ever-worsening economic crisis
WHEREAS, independent journalists are victims of harassment via social networks and official media; and State Security forces and other state agencies forbid them from leaving their homes, detain them temporarily without justification, and steal their telephones
WHEREAS, the legal panorama continues to be restrictive against the exercise of freedom of the press, expression and information
WHEREAS, the state-owned Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, SA (ETECSA) is used as the executing arm of State Security to silence independent journalists - suspending their Internet and telephone service
WHEREAS, at least 19 journalists have been temporarily arrested because of their journalistic activities
WHEREAS, at least seven journalists suffered house arrests
WHEREAS, one journalist was fined under Decree Law 370, which punishes free expression on the Internet; and some six people - including family members, journalists, youtubers and writers - were questioned by the police, and four others were evicted from their rented homes
WHEREAS, Yoennis Domínguez La Rosa was sentenced to a five-year prison term on charges of "attempt" and "public disorder" - after publishing on social networks a video clip of a protest
WHEREAS, a growing number of people is being punished with dismissal from schools or state jobs, and threatened, for posting opinions and information on Facebook, or filming with their mobiles
WHEREAS, dozens of websites run by the independent press and international human rights organizations continue to be blocked
WHEREAS, Principle 1 of the Chapultepec Declaration states: "There are no free people or societies without freedom of speech and press. The exercise of these freedoms is not granted by authorities; it is an inalienable right of the people."
THE SIP MID-YEAR MEETING RESOLVES
To alert about the worsening of threats and restrictions to the exercise of freedom of the press and expression in Cuba.
To condemn the State's practices of persecution and harassment against journalists and collaborators, their families and sources of information.
To express solidarity with independent journalists and those who engage in different forms of expression - who continue to narrate the reality of the country, despite threats and reprisals.
