An independent journalist in Cuba could face three years in prison for insulting the island's leader, President Raúl Castro, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Police arrested Hablemos Press journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez on Sept. 16, and he remains under detention, reported the Cuban independent news agency.
Martínez was arrested at the Havana airport while investigating the disappearance of medications and equipment donated by the World Health Organization that were left out over night by authorities, according to Martí Noticias. Apparently, Martínez's reporting was viewed a slight against Castro. The journalist also reported on an outbreak of dengue and cholera two days before the Cuban government acknowledged the problem, Martí Noticias added.
Recently, the Inter American Press Association warned that there had been an increase in detentions and threats against journalists in Cuba along with greater reprisals against opposition figures on the island.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
