Cuba

For an update on Cuba post-Castro's 19 February resignation, click /writersinprison/honorarymembers/cuba/unfairtrade/

Since the fall of the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 Cuba has been a one-party state led by Fidel Castro, a devotee of Marxist-Leninist theory who brought revolution to the country and created the western hemisphere's first communist state. He exercises control over virtually all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass organisations, the government bureaucracy and the state security apparatus. It is difficult to properly report on human rights in Cuba as international human rights organisations are not allowed to investigate conditions there.

The Cuban media are tightly controlled by the government and journalists must operate within the confines of laws against anti-government propaganda and the insulting of officials which carry penalties of up to three years in prison. The Criminal Code is the primary legal instrument used to repress freedom of expression in Cuba. Freedom of expression is limited by laws that have criminalized disseminating enemy propaganda, 'unauthorized news' and insulting patriotic symbols. According to figures provided by Reporters Without Borders, Cuba has the second highest number of journalists in prison after China.

Around 80 people were detained in Cuba as part of a crackdown on alleged dissidents that began on 18 March 2003. 34 writers, journalists and librarians were sentenced during one-day trials held on 3/4 April 2003 under laws governing the protection of the Cuban state. Political prisoners are held in extremely poor conditions; reports have shown that they suffer physical and sexual abuse by other inmates and guards and often do not receive medical attention. Any criticism of their conditions leads to reprisals in the form of solitary confinement and restricted visitation rights. According to Reporters Without Borders, 25 journalists were still serving their prison sentences as of July 2007, most of them were imprisoned because of threatening “the national independence and economy of Cuba.” To read English PEN's August 2007 petition regarding six Honorary Members in Cuba please click here.

The Government heavily monitors internet communications. The Law of Security of Information prohibits Cubans from having internet services unless they belong to certain official organisations. The Government has recently been targeting writers that attempt to disseminate information of human rights abuse in Cuba via the Internet.

Fidel Castro's health has been an issue for some years; in July 2006 the ageing president temporarily stepped aside after undergoing surgery. On 19 Feburary 2008, Fidel Castro officially handed over control of the government to his brother and designated successor, Raul Castro.

Sources: For further information, based on primary research, see the annual reports from Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/), the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (http://www.cpj.org/), Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.fr/) and the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (http://ifex.org/) . See also Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/). For more general information on Cuba, see the Foreign and Commonwealth Office country profile (www.fco.gov.uk).