Cuban Democratic Directorate: Releases of political prisoners initiated in Cuba

"This political prisoner goes out to fight for the rest who remain imprisoned" - Iván Fernández Depestre

Out of Jail: Iván Fernández Depestre

Cuba, January 8, 2015. Cuban Democratic Directorate. Iván Fernández Depestre, Cuban prisoner of conscience and Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Civic Resistance Front activist, was released from prison on January 8 in the afternoon at the start of the releases of some political prisoners in Cuba as a result of bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Castro dictatorship.

"I was told I was being transferred to another province but was released. I want to thank all those who fought so much for me that they did not fight in vain and they are part of this success. I want to send a message to the world that I feel very proud to have the support that I have and to have so many people who care for me. And that this political (prisoner) goes out to continue fighting for the other political prisoners who remained jailed. Long live free Cuba!” expressed Fernández Depestre by telephone to the Cuban Democratic Directorate moments after arriving home.

Three other political prisoners were released in the center of the country, according to Belkis Toledo Rodríguez, activist of the Cuban Reflection Movement who reported from Santa Clara that Jorge Ramírez Calderón, Hanoi Almeida Pérez and José Lino Ascencio López were released.

Recognized by Amnesty International and Ai Weiwei

 From the East of Cuba, José Daniel Ferrer García, representative of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) informed the Directorate that five political prisoners from Santiago de Cuba had been released: Bianco and Diango Vargas Martín, Enrique Figuerola Miranda, Ernesto Roberto Riverías Ton and Lázaro Romero Hurtado.

"They are being released on parole, in one of those tricks of infamy that they have accustomed us to. They put on the sheet of paper that they were released on condition of good behavior; when they came denying them any kind of benefit because according to the State Security jailers they had behaved very badly by also protesting within the prisons. What is most important remains to be resolved, it is for this that we fight, ending the arbitrary legal order that gives rise to so many innocent people going to prison, the lack of independence of powers of the state of Cuba that is the largest factory of prisoners of conscience, " said García Ferrer.

En castellano.

Cuban prisoner of conscience Iván Fernández Depestre beaten up and threatened with death by prison official

"Attention, I've just been informed that prisoner of conscience Iván Fernández Depestre was brutally beaten in prison..." - Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera over twitter on October 23, 2014 at 10:43am

Iván Fernández Depestre: Prisoner of Conscience & Art Icon

Iván Fernández Depestre should not be spending one moment in prison for exercising his rights as a person.. According to Amnesty International:

 Mr Depestre was charged with “dangerousness”, a pre-emptive measure defined as the “special proclivity of a person to commit crimes” after he was accused of “meeting with antisocial persons”. He had no access to a lawyer during his trial and was sentenced to three years in jail on 2 August [2013]. 

Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience on September 11, 2013 and the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has an image of him on display in an exhibition in Alcatraz that opened. Below you can judge for yourself what the Cuban government describes as "dangerous."


Jailed unjustly since July 30, 2013 for nonviolently participating in a public event to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Cuban national hero Frank País in the central province of Villa Clara. In the video above are the images taken that day leading up to his arrest.

Iván Fernández Depestre (Primavera Digital)

Today Iván was brutally beaten up by and recieved a death threat from the lieutenant 2nd chief in Guamajal prison in Cuba. Below (in Spanish)Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera gives a report of what took place.

Remembering China's human rights record on imprisoned Nobel Laureate's birthday

"Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth. To strangle freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, stifle humanity, and suppress truth." - Liu Xiaobo, December 23, 2009 Statement

Liu Xiaobo behind bars since 2008 and Liu Xia under house arrest since 2010

 Today, December 28, 2013 Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo is observing his 58th birthday and his fifth behind bars in a Chinese prison. He is a prisoner of conscience imprisoned in 2008 for his participation in the drafting of Charter 08. His wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since 2010 when her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Chinese authorities sentenced this peaceful activist to 11 years in prison on Christmas day in 2009 because he, and other activists, exercised the power of the powerless and wrote the truth about the current situation in China:

"There are laws but there is no rule of law. There is a constitution but no constitutional governance. And there is still the political reality that is obvious for all to see. The power bloc continues to insist on maintaining the authoritarian regime, rejecting political reform. This has caused corruption in officialdom, difficulty in establishing rule of law, and no protection of human rights, the loss of ethics, the polarization of society, warped economic development, damages in the natural and human environments, no systematic protection of the rights to property and the pursuit of happiness, the accumulation of countless social conflicts, and the continuous rise of resentment. In particular, the intensification of hostility between government officials and the ordinary people, and the dramatic rise of mass incidents, illustrate a catastrophic loss of control in the making, and the anachronism of the current system has reached a point where change must occur."

South Florida residents have the opportunity until March 16, 2014 to see first hand the consequences of corruption in officialdom and its impact on Chinese children.

The Pérez Art Museum Miami is exhibiting "Ai Weiwei: According to What?" PAMM offers the following description of this exhibition:

Ai Weiwei: According to What? is the first major international survey of this vital artist’s multifaceted artistic oeuvre. This exhibition reveals Ai’s practice as emerging from an ever-questioning dialogue with the social, political and cultural positions of his native China and the world at large. Ai (b. 1957) works in a range of media, including architecture and design, and this exhibition will feature work of the last 20 years, including photography and the large-scale sculptures for which the artist is best known. These sculptures, often made from modified found objects, suggest the irreverent nature of Ai’s project and reconfigure materials in new and evocative ways. With a broad formal range, Ai has continuously challenged possible meanings and modes of art making, most recently employing the Internet and its global reach as a platform for activism and expression. His provocative and beautiful works of art and architecture are an exploration of the transformative potential of contemporary art, which he said is “not a form but a philosophy of society.”

Although not necessary, would also recommend viewing the documentary Never Sorry exhibited at the Miami Film Festival in 2012 and later that same year at the University of Miami. The film provides context in which much of the work of this Chinese artist's exhibit was made.

Ai Weiwei: According to What? at PAMM Photo by P.U.

In the meantime take a few minutes out of your day to petition the Chinese authorities to free Liu Xiaobo while at the same time remembering that he is not the only one imprisoned for his beliefs.


Ai Weiwei: According to What? exhibit at the Pérez Art Museum Miami through March 16, 2014 located at 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132. Museum hours: Closed Mondays; Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 6pm; Thursday 10am - 9pm Tickets cost $12 for adults and $8 for students.  For more information regarding the exhibition call: 305.375.3000

The Human Rights Foundation Inaugurates The Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent

"Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance." - Václav Havel

Inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent Awarded to Ai Weiwei, Manal al-Sharif, and Aung San Suu Kyi

The inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent was awarded to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Saudi women’s rights advocate Manal al-Sharif, and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The three laureates were honored at the Havel Prize ceremony at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway on May 9.

An initiative of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF), the Havel Prize for Creative Dissent was founded with the support of Dagmar Havlová, Václav Havel’s widow.

“This is a magnificent way to honor the memory of Václav Havel—by recognizing those who, with bravery and ingenuity, unmask the lie of dictatorship by living in truth,” said Havlová, a member of the prize committee.

Ai Weiwei, China’s most famous artist, has become one of the Chinese government’s most prominent and innovative critics. Unwilling to accept a political system that violates human rights, he continues to express himself across numerous media—despite being detained, fined, harassed, and constantly under surveillance.


Manal al-Sharif at Oslo Freedom Forum 2012

Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi mother and computer-security professional, last year posted a YouTube video of herself defying her country’s draconian ban on women driving. She was arrested and, after a groundswell of protest, released. Her ongoing advocacy has breathed life into a new movement for individual rights.

Aung San Suu Kyi, one of Václav Havel's heroes, has over three decades built a unique international profile to help lead the fight for democracy in Burma. Recently released from house arrest and allowed to campaign, she was elected to Burma's parliament and is leading a nationwide push against the dictatorship.

These three Havel Prize laureates received an artist’s representation of the “Goddess of Democracy,” the iconic statue erected by Chinese student leaders during the Tiananmen Square protests of June, 1989. Each sculpture embodies the spirit and literal reality of creative dissent at its finest, representing the struggle of truth and beauty against brute power. The Havel Prize laureates also shared a prize of 350,000 Norwegian Kroner.

The Havel Prize is funded jointly by grants from the Brin Wojcicki Foundation and the Thiel Foundation. The Brin Wojcicki Foundation was established by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and his wife Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company. The Thiel Foundation, established and funded by Peter Thiel, defends and promotes freedom in all its dimensions: political, personal, and economic.

The Havel Prize ceremony was live-streamed at www.oslofreedomforum.com on Wednesday, May 9. The event took place at Oslo’s Christiania Theater and registration was open to the public.

For inquiries, please contact secretariat@havelprize.org