Journalist Mary Karla Ares sent to prison in Cuba

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 28 May 2021

Mary Karla Ares has been transferred to prison in Cuba after her arrest during a protest. Rights groups are calling for her immediate release and an end to harassment of journalists.

Summary

HAVANA—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Women’s Media Foundation, Article 19, and Cubalex rights groups have demanded in a joint statement that the Cuban government must release female journalist Mary Karla Ares immediately.

The Cuban authorities have transferred the journalist to the Western Women’s Prison in the La Lisa municipality of Havana, after holding her in a police facility since her April 30 arrest, according to a report by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP).

Authorities are investigating her for criminal public disorder and “resistance,” according to that report. She was arrested while covering a protest on Facebook Live. "If charged and convicted, Ares could face up to five years in prison," the ICLEP report stated.

“By transferring Mary Karla Ares to the Western Women’s Prison, Cuban authorities have escalated their unjust treatment of a journalist who is being punished simply for doing her job,” said CPJ Central and South America Senior Researcher Ana Cristina Núñez, adding that: “Authorities must release Ares immediately, drop their investigation into her work, and cease harassing and detaining independent journalists.”

Photo: Facebook