Juan Carlos Reyes Ocaña
Cuban independent journalist Juan Carlos Reyes Ocaña was arrested earlier today, according to Pablo Rodriguez Carvajal, editor of Payo Libre.
Details were not immediately available, but Rodriguez said Reyes had been taken to a local police station and advised of the charges against him. Rodriguez said it was possible Reyes was facing "nonpolitical" charges, similar to how the dictatorship has chosen to go after another prominent dissident, physician and journalist Dr. Darsi Ferrer.
Stay tuned for additional information.
UPDATED, Jan. 30, 2010 — In a dispatch posted at Payo Libre, independent journalist José Ramón Pupo Nieves reports that Reyes, a reporter with the Holguín Press news agency, is facing supposed charges of "contempt," "disobedience" and "illegal economic activity."
Several democracy activists have gathered outside a police station to show their support for Reyes, according to the report.
UPDATED, Feb. 1, 2010 — Reyes was released from custody on the night of Jan. 30, but the charges remain pending.
UPDATED, Feb. 1, 2010 — Oswaldo Paya reports that Reyes, a member of Paya's Christian Liberation Movement, started a hunger strike after his arrest, and he plans to continue his protest to demand that the charges be dropped.
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