At least six Cuban journalists were briefly detained by authorities in Baracoa, Cuba, for reporting on the effects of Hurricane Matthew in the area, according to the Miami Herald.
Havana-based independent journalists Elaine Díaz, Mónica Baró, Julio Batista Rodríguez, Tomás E. Pérez and Geysi Guía reportedly travelled to Baracoa last week to report on the hurricane, but were told that Cuban authorities were only granting access to “accredited media.”
After the group unsuccessfully tried to obtain permits, they attempted to work anyway but were arrested on Oct. 12, according to McClatchy Company-affiliated news site In Cuba Today.
In addition to the five journalists mentioned above, In Cuba Today stated that reporter Maykel Gonzalez Vivero was also arrested in Baracoa on Oct. 12 while covering Hurricane Matthew.
According to the news site, Mr. Vivero was told by Cuban state security that he was being detained “in the interest of state security,” but was later charged with “illicit economic activity.” Reports have not specified whether the other journalists were charged.
The human rights-advocate site Global Voices, which Ms. Díaz contributes to, called for the six journalists to be immediately released after stories of their arrest broke.
“We are distraught at this news, and urge Cuban authorities to release Elaine and her colleagues immediately,” Global Voices stated on Oct. 12.
All six journalists were reportedly released the following day.
“I’m fine. Will be writing soon. Thanks for all your concerns. Heading back to Havana,” Ms. Díaz, who was reportedly a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2015-2016, posted on Twitter.
However, Cuba’s Communist Party-run newspaper, Granma, defended the arrests, referring to the unpermitted journalists as “informers” who are “privately or openly in the service of the counterrevolution.”
Granma stated that unpermitted journalists were trying to present a distorted version of reality that had nothing to do with the areas most damaged by the hurricane.
“It is symptomatic that this happens just when a round of human rights talks between Cuba and the United States is celebrated,” the state-run newspaper reported.
Cuba is ranked 171 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2016 World Press Freedom Index, a list that ranks countries based on the strength of their respective press freedoms.
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