The independent journalist Henry Constantin was transferred this Thursday, September 24, to the Cerámica prison in Camagüey, where he must serve the precautionary measure of preventive detention imposed in the case he is facing for an alleged offense of disobedience.
The transfer occurred without the prior knowledge of their family, according to reported this Thursday by La Hora de Cuba, a media outlet run by Constantin, citing information provided by their lawyer.
Until now, the journalist had been held at Villa María Luisa, in the Garrido neighborhood of Camagüey, a center for operations and interrogations of State Security that, according to the outlet, also serves as a temporary prison while a process is determined.
The Cerámica prison is located near the Lenin neighborhood. Constantin's attorney will request a modification of the precautionary measure that currently keeps him in preventive detention.
Constantin received a visit this Wednesday that lasted just 20 minutes, during which he was accompanied by his partner, journalist Alejandra García. In that meeting, he assured that he was "calm" and remained "steadfast".
During that visit, the family did not receive any official communication regarding the transfer. Constantin himself mentioned that he had been told he would be taken to another facility on Tuesday, although ultimately that day, other inmates were transferred.
The prison transfer occurs while a habeas corpus hearing is still pending.
The resource had been submitted on Monday to the Provincial People's Court of Camagüey and, according to information released this Thursday by La Hora de Cuba, the hearing was approved on Tuesday the 22nd.
Representatives from Constantin attended the Provincial People's Court this Thursday to find out when it would be held. According to the information they received there, the hearing was scheduled for this Friday the 25th, but it would be postponed due to a "change of work" in the country.
The outlet noted that it could take place next Monday, although it indicated that the most likely date would be Tuesday, September 29.
The delay has been questioned by the defense due to the timeframes established for the processing of the habeas corpus.
The Hour of Cuba noted that article 790.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law establishes a deadline of up to 72 hours within this procedure.
Luis Orlando Bermúdez, a law graduate quoted by the media, questioned the decision to postpone the hearing. «A resolution cannot contradict what the procedural law states», he asserted.
Bermúdez also stated that if there is a pending habeas corpus, there should be a judge overseeing the procedure even during the rotation related to the so-called "change of duties."
“It cannot be that my procedural guarantees are violated because you have a work change,” stated the jurist, who also questioned the use of that circumstance to postpone a procedure scheduled for a Friday, considering that it is a business day.
Constantin has been in custody since September 16 and is currently in preventive detention. The accusation is related to a summons set for September 9 at the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Foreign Affairs.
His defense had initially reported difficulties in accessing the case file and understanding the basis of the proceedings. However, on Wednesday the 23rd, the lawyer was finally able to review it and, according to La Hora de Cuba, confirmed that Constantin is accused of disobedience on the grounds that he neither attended nor provided a justified reason for his absence at the summons on the 9th.
The defense has questioned whether this absence is sufficient to support the charge of disobedience and is now preparing a request to amend the precautionary measure.
Constantin is the director of La Hora de Cuba and the regional vice president for Cuba of the Press and Information Freedom Commission of the Inter-American Press Society (SIP).
The SIP condemned his detention and publicly demanded his release on September 18. Its president, Pierre Manigault, described the arrest as "a new and serious episode of harassment against independent journalism in Cuba."
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