"During the month of March, three independent journalists—Yoani Sánchez, Camila Acosta and Mabel Páez—reported having been placed under police surveillance or subjected to de facto house arrest in the context of protests over the worsening energy crisis on the island, which they were covering. These constitute manifestly arbitrary restrictions that hinder the public-interest work carried out by information professionals.
Three journalists have reported a pattern of harassment aimed at hindering their journalistic work amidst growing social unrest. On March 9, Camila Acosta—a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC and the news portal Cubanet—warned on social media that State Security agents stationed near the University of Havana had allegedly prevented her from covering a student sit-in demanding the resumption of university classes, which had been suspended due to prolonged power outages. She also reported a second operation outside her home on March 10, and again on the 15th, stating that security agents were surrounding her residence in Havana.
Also on March 15, Yoani Sánchez, director of the independent media outlet 14ymedio, reported on social media that a plainclothes State Security agent prevented her from leaving her building in Havana, without presenting any identification or a court order. That same day—according to information confirmed to Reporters Without Borders by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and of the Press (ICLEP, for its Spanish initials)—journalist Mabel Páez, director of the local outlet El Majadero de Artemisa, was informed by local authorities in that town southwest of Havana that she was prohibited from leaving her home 'until further notice,' under threat of reprisals."
