Cuba, the director of the independent site 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, arrested
The director of the independent Cuban portal was stopped while leaving her house in Nuevo Vedado; Amnesty International denounces the violent arrest
Quick Look
Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, was kidnapped by the political police as she left her home in Havana; Amnesty International denounces the violent arrest and cites two other journalists arrested in the same week.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The episode comes in a week marked by two other arrests of independent journalists: on Monday Adelth Bonne Gamboa, a CubaNet collaborator, arrested and subsequently fined, and on Tuesday Camila Acosta, also from CubaNet, released after a few hours of detention and receiving a warning. 14ymedio recalls that several of its journalists have been victims of intimidation and arrests since the newspaper was founded in May 2014.
The director of the independent Cuban portal 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, was apparently kidnapped today by the political police as she left her home in Nuevo Vedado, Havana. This was reported by the same news site, according to which the journalist was stopped around 9.30 local time while she was going shopping in a local market. Sánchez had alerted her editorial colleagues of her brief exit, but about ten minutes later she managed to send a message of just four words to report what was happening to her. Since then there has been no further news of him.
The news was also relaunched by Amnesty International.
Érika Guevara, director of campaigns and policies of the organization, denounced on social media the violent arrest of the journalist by State Security agents, accusing the government of President Miguel Díaz-Canel of wanting to silence reporters who document human rights violations.
The episode comes in a week marked by two other arrests of independent journalists: on Monday Adelth Bonne Gamboa, a CubaNet collaborator, arrested and subsequently fined, and on Tuesday Camila Acosta, also from CubaNet, released after a few hours of detention and receiving a warning. This was reported by 14ymedio, recalling that several of its journalists have been victims of intimidation and arrests since the newspaper was founded in May 2014.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Amnesty International and other international organizations will exert diplomatic pressure on the Cuban government to secure the release of Yoani Sánchez.
Likely · Within days
New arrests or intimidation against independent journalists in Cuba could occur in the coming weeks.
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Where is Yoani Sánchez currently located?
- What are the formal charges against you?
- What consequences will the arrests have on other independent journalists?
