Cuban Reporter Charged with Illegal Possession of Journalistic Equipment
Cuban Reporter Charged with Illegal Possession of Journalistic Equipment - Havana Times
Cuban reporter Iliana Hernández faces charges of illegally possessing reporting equipment. (Photo via Iliana Hernández)
January 28, 2020
HAVANA TIMES – Cuban authorities should immediately drop all criminal charges against journalist Iliana Hernández, return her equipment, and allow her to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On January 8, at around 7:50 a.m., agents from the National Revolutionary Police and Cuban Intelligence Directorate raided the Havana home of Hernández, a contributor to the independent Cuban news website CiberCuba, and confiscated documents and equipment, including her computer and cell phone, according to Hernández, who spoke with CPJ via phone.
Following the raid, agents gave Hernández a citation saying she had been charged with receiving stolen property, and ordering her to appear before police on January 13, according to Hernández and a copy of the citation that she posted to Twitter. Authorities released Hernández later on January 8 on 1,000 Cuban pesos ($39) bail, but did not return her equipment, she said.
The crime of “receiving stolen property,” which relates to the possession of goods that a person could “rationally suppose” were obtained illegally, is punishable by up to one year in prison, according to the Cuban penal code.
On January 13, Hernández presented herself at the police station and provided agents with documentation certifying that she had lawfully obtained the computer, phone, and other items, but said the officers would not accept the documents.
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