Cuban State Security Confiscates Work Equipment of Journalist Augusto San Martin

HAVANA TIMES – On Tuesday afternoon April 9th, Cuban State Security released Augusto Cesar San Martin, a journalist for CubaNet, arbitrarily detained on Tuesday morning at his home in Havana.

San Martin was released, but without a trial or defense the regime imposed two fines, one of 2000 pesos for illicit economic activity, and another, of 250 pesos, for owning a router.

In addition, and much more significant, they confiscated without proper order “his PC, laptop, video camera, camera, 3 headphones, 3 microphones, an external hard drive, personal documents, certificates of study, a router and a network antenna.”

According to statements by San Martín, “Lieutenant Colonel Kenia, officers of the political police Jorge, Ernesto and Camilo, an officer who filmed the entire search, two inspectors from the Ministry of Communications and two witnesses of the CDR (neighborhood defense committees), participated in the operation, and an immigration officer.”

The agents arrived at the home of Augusto Cesar and his family, in the municipality of Centro Habana, between seven and eight in the morning, and after an extensive search, they took him away, along with his belongings, to the Zanja police station.

In the morning, his relatives were told that he was “being taken into custody for ‘arraignment’.”

This detention adds to the long repressive history of Cuban State Security against independent journalists. Detentions, exit bans, seizures, are common actions of the regime against independent journalism on the island.