Laws and Government Institutions
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The Cuban Constitution guaranties religious freedom and freedom of conscience (articles 8 and 55), freedom and full dignity of man (article 9), freedom of speech and the press (article 53), and the rights of assembly, demonstration, and association (article 54). However, freedom of speech and the press must be exercised in accordance with the aims of socialist society and none of the freedoms granted to citizens can be exercised against the provisions of the Constitution and laws, nor against the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or against the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism (article 62).
Civilian courts exist at the municipal, provincial, and Supreme Court levels. The constitution recognizes the independence of the judiciary, but the judiciary is directly subordinate to the National Assembly, which can remove or appoint judges at any time and in practice the judiciary is dominated by political considerations. Special tribunals are convened for political (“counterrevolutionary”) and other cases deemed sensitive to “state security” and held behind closed doors.
Laws related to censorship include:
- A provision regarding contempt for authority (desacato) penalizes anyone who "threatens, libels or slanders, defames, affronts (injuria) or in any other way insults (ultraje) or offends, with the spoken word or in writing, the dignity or decorum of an authority, public functionary, or his agents or auxiliaries." Penalties are from three months to one year in prison, plus a fine. If the person demonstrates contempt for the President of the Council of the State, the President of the National Assembly of Popular Power, the members of the Council of the State or the Council of Ministers, or the Deputies of the National Assembly of the Popular Power, the penalty is from one to three years in prison.
- Anyone who "publicly defames, denigrates, or scorns the Republic's institutions, the political, mass, or social organizations of the country, or the heroes or martyrs of the nation" is subject to from three months to one year in prison. This sweeping provision potentially outlaws mere expressions of dissatisfaction or disagreement with government policies or practices.
- Clandestine printing is a crime against public order and anyone who "produces, disseminates, or directs the circulation of publications without indicating the printer or the place where it was printed, or without following the established rules for the identification of the author or origin, or reproduces, stores, or transports" such publications, can be sentenced to from three months to one year in prison.
The Interior Ministry has principal responsibility for monitoring the Cuban population for signs of dissent. The ministry employs two central offices for this purpose: the General Directorate of Counter-Intelligence, which supervises the Department of State Security, also known as the Political Police, and the General Directorate of Internal Order, which supervises two police units with internal surveillance responsibilities, the National Revolutionary Police and the Technical Department of Investigation (Departamento Técnico de Investigaciones, DTI).
The Singular Systems of Vigilance and Protection (Sistema Unico de Vigilancia y Protección, SUVP) reach across several state institutions, including the Communist Party, the police, the CDRs, the state-controlled labor union, student groups, and members of mass organizations. The government calls on SUVPs to carry out surveillance and to intimidate opposition activists. Rapid Action Brigades (Brigadas de Acción Rapida, also referred to as Rapid Response Brigades, or Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida) are groups of government organized groups of civilian that observe and control dissidents.
Migration and housing officials threaten activists with forced exile, the loss of their homes, or by imposing fines. Political fidelity is monitored at workplaces and in schools: academic and labor files (expedientes escolares y laborales) that record actions or statements that may bear on a person's loyalty are maintained for each citizen and an individual's record must be deemed acceptable before they can advance to a new school or position.
Cuba had 21 journalists in prison in 2008, placing it second only to the People's Republic of China, according to The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international NGO. By December 2011 this number had dropped to zero, although many prisoners were forced into exile in exchange for their freedom. However, journalists continue to be at risk of imprisonment or other severe sanctions if they engage in independent reporting or commentary. The Cuban government still uses arbitrary arrests and short-term detentions to restrict freedom of assembly and expression.
Read more about this topic: Censorship In Cuba
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