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Cuba: Where Freedom to Inform Is Criminalized

“Henry Constantín is not in pretrial detention. He is being unjustly and illegitimately imprisoned.”

Editorial by 14ymedio

HAVANA TIMES – No one should be imprisoned for expressing their ideas or for reporting on what those in power seek to conceal. Freedom of expression is a right, not a concession granted by the government. The imprisonment of journalist Henry Constantín once again demonstrates that the Cuban regime treats freedom of expression as a privilege conditioned on obedience.

Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba and regional vice president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), was detained on September 16, 2026, in Camagüey. Authorities have ordered his transfer to Kilo 7 prison under pretrial detention. The official justification was that he failed to appear in response to a summons from the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Foreigners. The formal charge: “disobedience.”

The offense is set forth in Article 189 of Cuba’s current Penal Code. But invoking a legal provision is not enough to make imprisonment legitimate. Even less so when we are talking about a country like Cuba.

According to information released about the case, Constantín’s defense was unable to file a writ of habeas corpus on Friday, September 18, because it was a “change of duties” day. They had to wait until Monday the 21st. As a result, the hearing to rule on the habeas corpus petition—which, under Cuba’s Criminal Procedure Law, should have been held before Friday the 25th—did not take place either.

Cuban judges are judges, formally speaking, from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, they “change duties.” For that reason, the Provincial Court of Camagüey informed Henry’s relatives and defense........

© Havana Times