Late last night posted information on the plight of Eduardo Cardet, including a brief statement by the spokesman of his organization, the Christian Liberation Movement. Saw good news today that Amnesty International had updated his case. Reproducing it below.
URGENT ACTION: PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE ATTACKED IN PRISON
On
19 December 2017, after being transferred from the Provisional Prison
of Holguín to Cuba SI prison, three other prisoners attacked Eduardo
Cardet, according to his wife. He is a prisoner of conscience who must
be
released immediately and unconditionally.
On 19 December 2017, the afternoon after authorities transferred
Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción from the Provisional Prison
of Holguín to Cuba SI prison in the same province, three other prisoners
allegedly attacked him, according to his wife, Yaimaris Vecino. Prison
authorities only informed his wife and family
that same day that they would be transferring Eduardo Cardet to a
different prison. They only permitted his family to see him for several
minutes and did not provide the family with reasons for the transfer.
Yaimaris
Vecino told Amnesty International that prison officials did not permit
her to visit her husband after the attack until 15 January 2018, when
she observed two circular scars to Eduardo Cardet’s abdomen. She stated
that her husband told her that he had not received medical attention
since the attack and was experiencing headaches and dizziness.
On
9 January, Eduardo Cardet’s sister lodged a complaint regarding the
alleged attack with the Public Prosecutor in Havana, the capital. As of
19
January the family had not received a response, according to Yaimaris
Vecino.
Eduardo Cardet is the leader of the pro-democracy movement Christian Liberation Movement (Movimiento
Cristiano Liberación,
MCL). He has been imprisoned in Holguín since his arrest on 30 November
2016, five days after the death of the former leader of Cuba,
Fidel Castro. Prior
to his arrest, Eduardo Cardet gave a number of interviews published in
international media in which he was critical of the Cuban government.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
- Calling on the authorities to release human rights defender Dr Eduardo Cardet immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;
- Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is provided with any medical care of his choosing; that he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated; and that he is granted regular access to family and lawyers of his choosing;
- Calling on them to investigate the alleged attack of Eduardo Cardet and to ensure that effective measures are put in place to ensure his safety and the security of prisoners at all times.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 MARCH 2018 TO:
President of the Republic
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax:
+41 22 758 9431 (Cuba Office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email:
cuba_onu@cubamission.com (c/o
Cuban Mission to UN)
Twitter: @RaulCastroR
Salutation: Your Excellency
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella
Centro Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Email: relaciones@fgr.cu
Twitter: @FGR_Cuba
Salutation:
Dear Attorney General
Minister of Justice
María Esther Reus
Ministerio de Justicia
Calle O # 216 E/ 23 y 25 Vdo. Plaza de la Revolución
La Habana, Cuba
Twitter: @CubaMinjus
Salutation: Dear Minister
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Please
check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
This is the third update of UA 32/17. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/documents/a
URGENT ACTION
prisoner of conscience attacked in prison
Additional Information
According
to five witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International by telephone on
the condition of anonymity,
Eduardo Cardet was pushed off his bicycle and violently detained in the
early evening of 30 November 2016 by at least four plain clothed and
one uniformed police officer as he returned home after visiting his
mother. According to his wife, who witnessed her
husband’s detention with their two children, Eduardo Cardet is charged
with attacking an official of the state (atentado). This offence
is covered under Article 142.1 of the Criminal Code. One officer is
alleging that Eduardo Cardet pushed him during
his arrest. All witnesses who spoke with Amnesty International counter
this allegation, and state that Eduardo Cardet was quickly and violently
restrained by plain clothed officials, placed in handcuffs, and beaten,
and had no opportunity for self-defence.
The witnesses believe that Eduardo Cardet was arrested for his beliefs
and ideas. Amnesty International was able to review a copy of the
sentence at appeal emitted by the provincial court of Holguin. The
sentence makes no mention of the original grounds for
the arrest, suggesting the arrest was arbitrary. On 17 May,
the Popular Provincial Court of Holguín (Tribunal Provincial Popular de
Holguín) ratified in appeal the judgement handed down on 20 March sentencing Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción to three years in
prison.
The
Christian Liberation Movement (Movimento Cristiano Liberación, MCL) is a
prominent actor in
the pro-democracy movement in Cuba. According to its website, it is a
movement for peaceful and democratic change and respect for human
dignity. It was founded in 1988 by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, who became a
visible figure of the Cuban political opposition,
and four other activists. Amnesty International has documented
harassment and intimidation of members of the MCL for decades. In 1991,
after Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas presented a petition calling for a national
referendum relating to constitutional reform, he
had his home destroyed by over 200 people, said to be members of a
Rapid Response Brigade. After Oswaldo Payá announced his intention to
put himself forward as a candidate for deputy to the National Assembly
for the municipality of Cerro, Havana, members of
his organization were reportedly subjected to frequent questioning and
short-term detention.
In
an interview published on 16 September 2016 by ABC International,
Eduardo Cardet stated: “Political activities are passed off as criminal
offences such as
inciting public scandal, contempt of or offences against the
authorities, and the political police use these classifications to lock
up dissidents" (Se disfraza la actividad política con hechos delictivos comunes, por ejemplo,
escándalo público, desacato, atentado, figuras que utiliza la policía política para encarcelar a los disidentes).
Cuba is closed to Amnesty International and nearly all independent international human rights monitors.
Name: Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción
Gender m/f: m
Further information on UA: 32/17 Index: AMR 25/7759/2018 Issue Date: 22 January 2018
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