Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso wins Reporters Without Borders award
on 05 Dec 2008
Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso has won
Reporters Without Borders Journalist of the Year award for
"helping an independent press to survive in Cuba",
After daring to challenge to the state’s monopoly of news and information, González was arrested on 18 March 2003 along with 26 other dissident journalists during the crackdown known as the “Black Spring.†Accused of being “in the pay of the United States†and “undermining Cuba’s independence and territorial integrity,†he was given a 20-year prison sentence. He has been held in Havana’s Combinado del Este prison since late 2004, despite poor health. link
The 2008 Media prize goes to the
Seoul-based Radio Free NK’s North Korean journalists
"in order to pay tribute to their courage and determination". Burmese bloggers
Zarganar and
Nay Phone Latt, are joint winners in the “Cyber-dissident†category. Zarganar, known as the
“Burmese Charlie Chaplinâ€, denounced the junta on his blog until his arrest in June 2008. Nay Phone Lat, who has featured on this blog many times, was sentenced last month to 20 years and six months. He blogged during the
Sapphron Revolution in September 2008.
