Inter-American Press Association Criticizes Lack of Freedoms in Cuba

HAVANA TIMES — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will vote today on a report denouncing the “absolute repression of individual liberties and the freedom of the press and expression” in Cuba, during its 68th general assembly, to be held on Friday in Sao Paulo.

According to EFE, the document was presented by the Committee on the Freedom of the Press. The draft says that “unlike other periods, the jails today (in Cuba) are not full of journalists, however the authorities have increased surveillance, control and repression.”

Julio Muñoz, IAPA’s executive director, said Cuba has “the worst” history in the Americas with respect to free speech, adding that the data in the report are “extremely negative.”

The report also denounces the occurrence of brief arrests that last only a few days or hours, in addition to “beatings (of independent and opposition journalists) by crowds of citizens or directly by the police.”