At least nine journalists from the independent Cuban mediaThe touch They have resigned from their jobs in recent days due to pressure from State Security.
In aeditorial titled "The night will not be eternal," the news portal, specialized in society and economic issues, stated that "Aleiny, José Leandro,Meilin, Mauro" are not the only members of hisstaff who have requested dismissal.
"There are four of thenine members of the elTOQUE team who have resigned, until now, to their work due to direct and indirect pressure from the Security Bodies of the Cuban State," he stressed.
He explains that "these young journalists have been able to show civility, despite the pressures to which they are subjected. They are afraid—we all are—but even so they have refused to testify against their colleagues and have pointed out, clearly, to the repressor".
He said that "the blackmail and threats against our group have only escalated" after the media outletdenounce the ban on six reporters from traveling to the media innovation conference most important in Latin America known as Media Party and which was held in Argentina last week.
"We are experiencing days of great sadness and indignation. It generates great emotional conflict for us when members of the team are forced to stop working, for no other reason than an authoritarianism that is not accountable. Colleagues who have contributed their talent and dedication to doing of elTOQUE a medium that serves, in every sense of the word, the Cuban citizens today are forced to abandon the exercise of independent journalism," the editorial states.
He adds that the demand that they give up work is not the only condition that the repressors have imposed, but they have also threatened to confiscate their basic means of work and to extend the ban on leaving the country to anyone who is part of the group.
If they fail to comply with these demands, they could be prosecuted under the new Penal Code.
"These are harassment practices that a growing number of Cuban citizens suffer firsthand if they dare to express their discontent on social networks, participate in a cacerolazo or show solidarity with political prisoners and exiles after the social explosion of 11J," details the publication.
He said that this tactic, described as "psychological torture" in the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, of which Cuba is a signatory, has been used against other media outlets. .
One case is Ismario Rodríguez, fromNeighborhood Journalism, Luz Escobar, from14 September, who resist despite all the damage they receive, the note noted.
He emphasizes that "the editorial position of elTOQUE today responds to the context of a Cuba in which police and state violence, repression of dissent - coming from any social sphere -, the lack of political, social and economic freedoms keep the country mired in a deep crisis."
He reiterated that despite the pressures the medium will continue to respond to the current Cuban context. El Toque has been, since the dollar began to rise in the Cuban informal market, the space that carefully monitors the behavior of currencies in Cuba and its impact on the life of the population.
"Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said that if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. We have stated it before too: our journalism is truthful, not neutral. Our efforts focus on being based on facts, on data, in reflecting what the state propaganda machinery wants to hide and also what is lost in the narrative biased by political interests of any kind. Let no one aspire on our side to a fatuous and cowardly impartiality. Cuba suffers and it is not alone or first. because of the embargo. For Cuba that suffers, as Martí wrote, it will always be our first word," he concluded.
Likewise, he expressed gratitude and admiration "toour colleagues who resist, to those who have had to abandon independent journalism and to those who will have to do so. (...) the night will not be eternal," he statedThe touch, evoking the phrase of the Cuban opponent Oswaldo Payá.
A 2021 report published by the Human Rights Watch organization shows how the Cuban Government has used travel restrictions as a form of repression and punishment of any form of public criticism.
In addition to the journalists and media mentioned, other spaces such as the magazineThe sneeze, also suffered two years ago from harassment by State Security against their reporters on the island, who also had to resign from their positions.
The case of the reporter fromCyberCuba Iliana Hernández, who had to face persecution, harassment, arbitrary arrests and even house arrest during the last two years.
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