Cuban journalist Yoani Sánchez said she was home after a reported nine-hour detention in Havana, an incident that drew a public response from a press-freedom group.
Her outlet, 14ymedio, reported that State Security detained Sánchez on Nov. 5 as she left her home in Havana’s Nuevo Vedado neighborhood for a shopping trip. 14ymedio said Sánchez was held for nine hours and reported that she said authorities accused her of “propaganda against the constitutional order.” In an English translation of her X post, Sánchez wrote, “I just got home.”
In a statement published by 14ymedio on Nov. 6, Sánchez described people detained in Havana whose identity cards did not list an address in the capital. She said authorities sent them to their home provinces. Her account has not been independently verified.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Ladies in White leader Berta Soler and member María Cristina Labrada were detained on Nov. 5, citing Soler’s husband, Ángel Moya. AFP later quoted Moya as saying the women had been released; their release has not been independently confirmed.
Before Sánchez returned home, José Zamora, regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said: “Cuban authorities should immediately release Yoani Sánchez and disclose her whereabouts.” CPJ also cited separate brief detentions involving Adelth Bonne Gamboa and Camila Acosta earlier in the week, and said Sánchez’s case fit a wider effort to curb independent journalism.
