Jorge Olivera Castillo

Author, Journalist, Former Political Prisoner

Cuba

A well-known Cuban dissident, author of numerous novels, poet and political commentator, Mr. Olivera’s work was banned in his home country. It was however widely disseminated abroad, and also appears on blogs such as the Miami-based Cubanet. In 1993, he joined the dissident movement as Press Secretary to the independent Federation of Democratic Cuban Workers until 1995. Between 1999 and 2003 he was Director of the Habana Press agency. Imprisoned from March 2003 to December 2004 “for claiming free expression” (his words), he was only released from his eighteen-year sentence on health grounds. He now lives and writes at home.