Director of Habana Press jailed for "disrespect"

From the Committee to Protect Journalists:

Cuban journalist sentenced to three years in prison

New York, May 14, 2009--A Cuban independent journalist was sentenced during a summary trial on Tuesday to three years in prison on charges of "disrespect," journalists in Havana told the Committee to Protect Journalists today.

According to the foreign-based Cuban news Web site Cubamatinal, Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández, director of the Havana-based independent news agency Habana Press was also charged with distributing enemy propaganda, although CPJ could not confirm the charge or whether he was convicted of it. Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz, president of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation in Havana, told CPJ that the journalist was not allowed a defense lawyer but has already appealed his sentence. The appeal is pending.

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