Endy Gęsina-Torres

1. Endy Gęsina-Torres
Fight for free media

2. Who is Endy Gęsinna-Torres?
• He’s a reporter
• He worked for
Gazeta Wyborcza,
TVP and others
• He’s mostly known
for his actions to
improve refugees’
lives
• His family is Cuban
but he also has
Polish citizenship

3. Alarm from the refugees center in Białystok
• The guards and staff had
their own keys, they used
to go inside the refugees’
cells and take photos,
humiliate them without
providing enough personal
hygiene facilities
• The people were treated in
an inhumane way, there
was no respect for them.

4. Juan Gualberto Torres Tejera
• He forged his
documents. He also had
changed his look to
prove his new Identity.
Then he made himself
look like a poor exile
from oppressed Cuba.
• He stayed there for a
few weeks,
unfortunately
somebody saw his
watch with a hidden
camera inside and they
took actions against him

5. Reportage
• He discovered all the
stories were actually
true. Racist oppression,
punishmets for nothing,
fights between guards
with the refugees
(usually inside the cells
not to make them run
away), personal search,
only one hour outside
for a walk
• It all looked like in bad
prison camps from the
times of cold war

6. Exposure
• He had to get out of
this place, because
they caught him on
act, with a hidden
camera.
• After that he made
a few raports about
the issue for ‘Gazeta
Wyborcza’
newspaper, but he
didn't manage to
widespread this.

7. Effects of his work
• Endy made a reportage
which helped to change
the view on the issue
from the public
• He showed it in Tomasz
Sekielski's programme
"Po prostu" where he
presented all the
materials collected. The
viewers’ opinions were
devastating.

8. Lawsuit• The first trial was in
November 2013, and the
second in September 2014
• The police interrogated
him, and when they
accused him of breaking
the law, the judge
sentenced Torres for the
fine of 2000 zloty. At first
they didn't punish him but
after an appeal, they not
only found him guilty but
also punished him with the
fine and trial costs.

9. Unfair sentence
• The Human Rights
Foundation protested
against the judgement
and made an appeal to
the European court of
human and civil rights
in Strasbourg
• The public opinions are
as many as people out
here, it's interesiting
what the outcome of
this case will be

10. Changes after reportage
• The changes weren't
so big but, there
were some
important ones like
improving the
standards of living for
refugees, change of
the staff in the
refugees’ centres,
more control over
their work, and
fulfilment for the
oppressed

11. Thank you for your attention!