Henry Constantín Leaves Punishment Cell as Defense Alleges Irregularities in Case

Independent Cuban journalist Henry Constantín has left the punishment cell at Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey but remains in pretrial detention, his partner, journalist Alejandra García, said, as his defense alleges irregularities in the criminal case against him.

García told Martí Noticias that she was able to speak with him on Saturday, Oct. 31. She said he was calm and stood by his position on the case.

“On Saturday the 31st he got in touch with us. He is calm, he is at peace, he remains firm in his convictions and, as we always say, we stand with him,” García told Martí Noticias.

Although Constantín is out of isolation, his legal situation has not changed, and his defense’s efforts have been met with refusals from the authorities.

Those efforts include a request to change the pretrial detention order and a complaint over the refusal to admit witnesses in the case for alleged disobedience.

The defense also filed a habeas corpus petition, which a court rejected, according to the Inter American Press Association’s report on Cuba. García said the effort nonetheless made it possible to locate the journalist’s case file, whose whereabouts had been an obstacle for his lawyers.

Obstacles in the case against Henry Constantín

García also described the difficulties she faced during a proceeding on Friday, Oct. 30, at Kilo 7. She went with the lawyer that day so that Constantín could give a new statement to a criminal investigator identified as Juan Pablo.

The visit lasted from about 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The two women had to wait for the head of the unit to arrive before the proceeding could take place, while the journalist was held in the punishment cell.

The knife Constantín says was planted

García also questioned the circumstances surrounding a homemade knife that guards said they found among the journalist’s belongings during a search on Oct. 15.

Constantín denied the knife was his and said someone placed it among his belongings to incriminate him. García relayed his complaint about the lack of forensic checks.

“No fingerprints were taken,” she told Martí Noticias.

The authorities also decided to “merge the two complaints into a single case file,” García told the outlet. According to information from the defense, the case was due to return to the prosecutor’s office this week and then go to the municipal court.

García said that, based on an estimate from the defense, the trial could take place in about two months, though she did not mention a confirmed date.

Held since Sept. 16

Constantín has been held since Sept. 16. The disobedience investigation stems from a police summons that, according to the journalist and his team, he did attend, although the officers had already left when he arrived.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said he is accused of failing to attend a summons for Sept. 9 and was arrested on Sept. 16 when he showed up for a second summons at the Second Unit of the Revolutionary National Police. According to CPJ, his defense argues the detention is invalid because Cuban law punishes failure to attend a first summons only with a fine. He was held at Villa María Luisa, the state security headquarters in Camagüey, and moved to Kilo 7 on Sept. 24.

Constantín directs the independent outlet La Hora de Cuba and is regional vice president for Cuba of the Inter American Press Association’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information. CPJ called for his immediate release and described his detention as “an abuse of due process and yet another attempt to silence independent reporting.”

García asks that attention stay on the case

García asked for continued public attention on the case.

“We keep asking that the case be made visible. He is a journalist whose rights are being violated,” she said.

She also said State Security has made accusations against him “in the most arbitrary and unjust way.”

García thanked the media, international organizations and people who have taken an interest in the situation of the journalist and his family. “We remain firm with Henry Constantín,” she said. Constantín remains in custody, awaiting a move toward trial.