{"id":15991,"date":"2024-07-01T14:30:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T14:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=15991"},"modified":"2024-07-01T14:48:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T14:48:30","slug":"cuba-detention-and-harassment-of-alina-barbara-lopez-and-jenny-pantoja-highlight-repression-of-critical-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/07\/01\/cuba-detention-and-harassment-of-alina-barbara-lopez-and-jenny-pantoja-highlight-repression-of-critical-voices.html","title":{"rendered":"Cuba: Detention and harassment of Alina B\u00e1rbara L\u00f3pez and Jenny Pantoja highlight repression of critical voices"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International regarding Alina B\u00e1rbara L\u00f3pez and Jenny Pantoja.<\/p>\n

“There is no justification for the Cuban government to arbitrarily detain writers and activists to silence their work and peaceful expression. The global PEN community stands firmly against these unjust actions and urges the Cuban authorities to cease the harassment of those who courageously use their voices and art to speak out for their people.” <\/em>Romana Cacchioli, Executive Director of PEN International.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLike many Cubans, Alina B\u00e1rbara Lopez Hernandez and Jenny Pantoja have fallen prey to the Cuban government\u2019s repression against anyone who dares to challenge its authority, particularly intellectuals and academics.\u201d <\/em>Daniel Pedreira, President of Cuban Writers in Exile PEN Centre.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The harassment suffered by L\u00f3pez and Pantoja is indicative of the Cuban government’s continued use of its intelligence and police forces to target artists and stifle free expression,” <\/em>said Julie Tr\u00e9bault of the Artists At Risk Connection. “We stand in solidarity with these writers and all creatives on the island who work tirelessly to create an environment inclusive and encouraging of artistic freedom and peaceful protest.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

28 June 2024: PEN International, PEN Cuba in Exile, and Artists At Risk Connection (ARC) condemn the arbitrary detention of writers Alina B\u00e1rbara L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez and Jenny Pantoja, which exemplify the ongoing harassment and persecution of writers, journalists and artists in Cuba.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 18 June 2024, prominent essayists, editors, historians and academics Alina B\u00e1rbara L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez and Jenny Pantoja were\u00a0arbitrarily<\/a>\u00a0detained<\/a>\u00a0while travelling to Havana for their monthly peaceful protest against censorship by the Cuban authorities. L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez and Pantoja were detained for 11 hours at the La Playa police station in Matanzas, where they were interrogated and charged with ‘attempt’ to assault police officers in the line of duty. It is believed that both L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez and Pantoja were charged with a common crime aimed at limiting their activities critical of the government.<\/p>\n

According to a video\u00a0testimony that<\/a>\u00a0L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez released on CubaXCuba\u2019 YouTube channel, when she asked for the reasons for her detention, the police physically assaulted her, throwing her to the ground, causing her to hit her head against the gravel. She was then dragged and forcefully pushed into a police car. During the struggle, L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez grabbed a policeman\u2019s uniform, tearing part of the fabric, for which she is now being charged. During the detention, police warned of using greater force next time and threatened imprisonment.<\/p>\n

In April, L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez was\u00a0arbitrarily\u00a0<\/a>detained<\/a>\u00a0at the Bacunayagua police checkpoint on the way to the monthly peaceful protest in Havana. L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez reported being physically assaulted and forced into a patrol car after refusing police orders to return home. She was\u00a0held incommunicado<\/a>\u00a0for several hours.<\/p>\n

In 2023,\u00a0L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>\u00a0was sentenced for “disobedience<\/a>“, after refusing to attend extrajudicial\u00a0summonses<\/a>\u00a0from State Security, believing they were illegitimate. Consequently, she was placed under house arrest. During the\u00a0trial<\/a>, the judge failed to clarify why she was summoned by State Security. L\u00f3pez Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s case was documented in\u00a0PEN International Case List 2023\/2024: War, Censorship and Persecution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PEN International, PEN Cuba in Exile, and Artists At Risk Connection (ARC) urge the Cuban authorities to end the harassment and persecution of all independent writers, journalists, and artists targeted for peacefully expressing their ideas, engaging in their professional duties or participating in peaceful activism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International regarding Alina B\u00e1rbara L\u00f3pez and Jenny Pantoja. “There is no justification for the Cuban government to arbitrarily detain writers and activists to silence their work and peaceful expression. The global PEN community stands firmly against these unjust actions and urges the Cuban authorities to cease the harassment of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":15992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15991"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15996,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15991\/revisions\/15996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}