Editorial

CRIMES AGAINST FREEDOM

In Havana yesterday, independent journalist Raúl Rivero was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ricardo González Alfonso, his editor at De Cuba magazine, also was sentenced to 20 years. They are among some 80 Cubans accused of crimes against the state, including Martha Beatriz Roque, (20 years) and Héctor Palacios, (25 years).

Their real crime? They've spoken out. They've stated their opinions, signed petitions and written articles. They've even congregated in each other's homes to talk politics and how to build a better Cuba.

Mr. Rivero regularly writes for El Nuevo Herald and occasionally for this newspaper. He has had many chances to leave the island, but has refused them all because he insists that he will not be run out of his country. A few years ago at a meeting in Costa Rica, the Inter American Press Association honored him with its highest free-speech award. Although he was given an exit visa by the Cuban government, he declined to attend the meeting because his return to Cuba wasn't guaranteed.

Today, he sits in jail, still committed to principles of free expression and ideas.Among the items taken from him when the police came about a week ago: a collection of Martin Luther King's speeches, autographed by former president Jimmy Carter on his recent trip to the island. It was taken as evidence of subversive thought.

We highlight these jailings to remind readers that each incident is about an individual. They should not be viewed or discussed as numbers, but as tragedies that have fallen on courageous people. The continuing repression of thought and expression in Cuba is a shame on all humanity.