From the Archives: Former Cuban Political Prisoner Denounces Human Rights Violations at UN Council

José Gabriel Ramón Castillo (age 61) passed away on July 16, 2018 from a cirrhosis of the liver product of a hepatitis infection contracted while imprisoned in Cuba as a prisoner of conscience during the 2003 Black Cuban Spring. In 2009, shortly after his release from prison he addressed the UN Human Rights Council. Below is the statement and press release published in 2009 by the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

Geneva. June 10, 2009. Cuban Democratic Directorate. Former Cuban political prisoner José Gabriel Ramón Castillo addressed the 11th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday June 10, in order to denounce human rights violations on the Island.

“In the name of those thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured, and whose fundamental rights are violated, I ask the Council to do justice for the Cuban people,” concluded Ramón Castillo’s remarks before the Council.

The statement, referred to as an intervention, took place during the open debate on the human rights situation on the Island, after the presentation of the final report on the Universal Periodic Review process carried out at the beginning of February, 2009

“The interventions by Ramón Castillo as well as by the representative for Human Rights Watch were critical and persuasive, despite the allegations against them before the Council made by the Havana regime’s ambassador,” stated John Suárez, director of International Relations for the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio) who is attending the session in Geneva.

The activists were able to participate in this international forum thanks to the support of the Centrist Democrat International. The representatives of the cause for human rights in Cuba also held a press conference previous to the presentation in the Council chamber.

“It has been a marvelous experience to participate in this international dialogue where, once again, the regime resorted to rhetoric and its claims were laid bare thanks to the remarks we made and those by Human Rights Watch. It makes no sense for the regime to speak of human rights if it has not adhered to the covenants on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights,” stated former political prisoner José Gabriel Ramón Castillo by telephone to Directorio.

José Gabriel Ramón Castillo met President Havel in 2009

 Below is the full text of José Gabriel Ramón Castillo’s statement before the Council:

INTERVENTION AT THE 11th SESSION OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL,

June 2009.

Thank you, Mr. President:

My name is José Gabriel Ramón Castillo. I was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and I testify before this forum as a victim of repression in Cuba. I will refer concretely to two points contained in the Responses provided by Cuba on the recommendations listed under paragraph 131 of the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Cuba (A/HRC/11/22) Adopted during the Fourth Session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review.

The ratification of the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural rights is still a pending matter. My question concerning this- Will it be possible to put a date on definitive adherence to these Covenants? As long as Cuba does not ratify these Covenants, the human rights situation will continue to depend on the political will of the Government, and there is no guarantee whatsoever that the current situation will change.

On page 2, the aforementioned document indicates that “Cuba is a State Party to the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments or punishments (CAT) from May 17, 1995 assures respect for the physical and spiritual integrity of persons. In the country there are no existing practices of torture or of other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments or punishments. Cuba has the effective national resources to ensure the rigorous application of the CAT.”

The reality is that in Cuba there are hundreds of political prisoners recognized by Amnesty International. Many are ill and do not receive treatment. Human rights defenders enter prison healthy and in a short time suffer serious illnesses as in the cases of, among others, Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, Librado Linares García, Normando Hernández González, and Ariel Sigler Amaya, who has been left an invalid. In Cuba, there is physical and psychological torture, and I am a direct victim of these practices.

On page 8, the aforementioned document speaks of the self-determination of peoples, and economic, social, and cultural rights are mentioned. Nevertheless, the self-determination of Cuban workers is not respected in Cuba. Workers lack the right to organizer labor unions independently of the state, and 5 Cubans are currently in prison for attempting to organize independent labor unions. This has been well documented by the relevant international institutions.

The Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs of Cuba has documented 21 deaths in prison in 2009 due to denial of medical attention and/or psychological harassment. There have been 500 cases of arbitrary arrests and 26 imprisonments of human rights activists. Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, executive director of the Council, as well as Julio Romero Muñoz of the Free Expression Solidarity Movement, have been persecuted for sending reports to the Universal Periodic Review Committee.

Mr. President, in the name of those thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured, and whose fundamental rights are violated, I ask the Council to do justice for the Cuban people.

Thank you.

Two events for Cuban Freedom

Analysis of US-Cuba policy and solidarity with the Cuban Resistance 

 

Monday, March 7, 2016 at 6:30pm

Please join us for a discussion on the current Administration's US-Cuba Policy
and President Obama's planned visit to Cuba
with our Guest Speaker
Mauricio Claver-Carone
Washington Director, US-Cuba Democracy PAC
RSVP: (786) 802-2332
Members Free / Non-Members $10
Complimentary Tapas \ Cash Bar

Amigos Friends Campaign Launch      
When:   Tuesday, 08 Mar 2016  5:30 PM - 8:30 PM     
Where: UM Institute for Cuban & Cuban American Studies 
              1531 Brescia Avenue Coral Gables, FL 33124
Join us as we come together in support of the Cuban Resistance...
RSVP: info@directorio.org Telephone: 305-220-2713
Acompañanos en apoyo a la Resistencia Cubana
Complimentary wine reception with free parking

The Cuban Democratic Directorate 25 years later: A look back to the midpoint

The Pedro Luis Boitel Freedom Prize, Human Rights and Directorio meets with opposition in Cuba

Between 2001 and 2003 the Cuban Democratic Directorate began a new decade of activism shifting gears, taking risks and raising the challenge to the Castro dictatorship. As Directorio marks 25 years of defending human rights in Cuba and supporting the opposition in the island's efforts to transition to a free and democratic society it is worthwhile to reflect on the midpoint of the organization's history between 2001 and 2003 when new traditions were established and courageous actions and positions taken in the continuing nonviolent struggle for liberation.

In 2001, the first Pedro Luis Boitel Freedom Prize was awarded to Juan Carlos González Leiva for his work as a human rights defender and began a tradition that would continue for the next 15 years and that will be observed this Thursday at 6:30pm at Bacardi House.

Juan Carlos González Leiva, 2001 Boitel Freedom Laureate

Without seeking permission from the Cuban government, Javier de Céspedes, President of the Cuban Democratic Directorate, traveled to Cuba in May of 2001 and met with democratic opposition leaders. There, he signed the Varela Project in Oswaldo Payá’s home in Havana. Javier also signed the Agreement for Democracy at the Cuban capitol building in a show of defiance to the island’s illegitimate government.



In August of 2002 in Havana, Cuba Lorenzo De Toro III, Vice-president of the Cuban Democratic Directorate entered Cuba to hand over humanitarian assistance to opposition activists on the island. In Miami a video is made known where Lorenzo appears with Bertha Antúnez Pernet, president in Cuba at the time of the Pedro Luis Boitel National Civic Resistance Movement.

In January of 2003 the Cuban Democratic Directorate hosted the visit of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas to Miami, Florida while demonstrating their continuing support for the Varela Project. A month later, on February 11, 2003 journalist Hank Tester in a NBC6 story titled " Big Trouble In Little Havana : Raw Emotion Is At Heart Of Discussion, wrote about the Directorate's support for the Christian Liberation Movement leader at a time when such a position was considered controversial in some quarters.

"Groups with memberships that skew a younger population of Cubans, such as the Directorio Democratico Cubano run by Orlando Gutierrez, have made numerous people-to-people contacts on the island and with political prisoners. They have also closely aligned themselves with dissidents who have formed independent libraries and Gutierrez' organization has been funneling hundreds of books to them from the US. Gutierrez has avoided the spotlight and the wrath of the hard-liners by keeping his organization low profile until recently when the Directorio hosted Oswaldo Paya's visit in Miami."

 It was also during this period of time that the Cuban Democratic Directorate began a systematic effort to get the voice of victims of repression heard at the United Nations Human Rights Commission.



Adjunct National Secretary, Janisset Rivero was the pioneer in this action, training other activists at Directorio who would continue this work in later years and would be present in Geneva during the 2003 Black Cuban Spring.


On Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 6:30pm the 2015 Boitel Freedom Laureates will be announced at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at Casa Bacardi in the University of Miami located at 1531 Brescia Avenue in Coral Gables. Entrance is free.

Alert: 3 former political prisoners missing in Cuba

Human rights alert in Cuba

 
Update April 2, 2015 at 10:00pm: They have been released

 Via Uncommon Sense and the Cuban Democratic Directorate:

Three former Cuban political prisoners -- Egberto Ángel Escobedo Morales, Jorge Luís García Pérez “Antunez” and Iván Fernández Depestre were arrested Wednesday as they left the Panamanian embassy in Havana, according to the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

Why the activists were at the embassy wasn't clear, but it probably is more than a coincidence that Panama next week will host the Summit of the Americas, which has been billed as the coming out party for normalized relations between Cuba and the United States. Several Cuban dissidents are expected to participate in side events during the summit designed to highlight the poor human rights situation on the island.

As of early Wednesday evening, the whereabouts of Escobedo, Antunez and Fernandez were not known.

International Human Rights Day 2014 and the Enduring Legacy of Dr. Ricardo Bofill

"I can't understand the hatred towards me. Because, really in the only field I’ve done battle, is the field of ideas." - Dr. Ricardo Bofill, 1987 in Nobody Listened documentary

International Human Rights Day in Cuba 2014 and men and women in Cuba continue to be arbitrarily detained, harassed and beaten for peacefully demonstrating in favor of human rights. Thanks to courageous activists across the island the world learned about these injustices today via twitter moments after the repression unfolded and at the same time the nonviolent actions of nonviolent opposition and human rights activists. Here is a brief sampling of some of those voices:

Sayli Navarro reported tonight that "in Colon 5  Ladies in White gathered together where Caridad Burunate  lives and handed out copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Angel Juan Moya at 8pm described over twitter how today, on December 10th, police beat Lady in White Adisnidia Dallet with a pistol while arresting her. He attached the above photo.

At 5:14pm the Ladies in White reported that the latest news was that hundreds had been detained and their counterparts abroad posted a press release.

Yoani Sanchez reported at 3:21pm over twitter that "police arrested and warned 14 y medio reporters for 'doing something illegal' ... but [Yoani exclaimed] they are doing journalism!"

 Rosa María Payá Acevedo at 1:24pm over twitter provided the context for what was taking place: "December 10th will go down in history as the day of State Security brutality. This is how the Government makes a mockery of human rights in Cuba."

At 12:36pm today the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) tweeted that "communist hordes assaulted the home of Elder Perez, of MCL in Majibacoa and beat up his wife who is pregnant."

Via telephone the Cuban Democratic Directorate today documented numerous demonstrations taking place across the island and also interviewed Sonia Garro who was sent home yesterday after spending two years, eight months and 22 days along with her husband and neighbor arbitrarily detained and is currently under house arrest. None of the three activists have undergone a judicial proceeding.

Ricardo Bofill, Cuban human rights pioneer

Regis Iglesias, spokesperson of the Christian Liberation Movement at 1:40pm over twitter posted a picture of Ricardo Bofill with the text: "Honoring honor. Ricardo Bofill, an essential reference in the defense of  Human Rights of Cubans."

These courageous activists are the disciples of Dr. Ricardo Bofill. Dr. Ricardo Bofill along with Martha Frayde and Eddy Lopez founded the Cuban Committee for Human Rights in 1976. In 1987, Nobody Listened, the documentary directed by Néstor Almendros and Jorge Ulla first introduced the world to Ricardo Bofill and the nonviolent human rights movement in this video.

Later in the same documentary, in the video above,  Dr. Bofill is interviewed and discusses his circumstances as a dissident in Cuba engaged in the battle of ideas:

"I can't understand the hatred towards me. Because, really in the only field I’ve done battle, is the field of ideas. In this field I’ve had no response just prison and the police. And I don’t know why because the revolution controls all mass media. They have editorials, journalists, even many writers in the world. I don’t know why the response, time and again, has been jail. The response should come in the field I fight in, with ideas. I was arrested again in 1983. On that occasion, I was sentenced to 17 years in jail accused of activities in the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and the last period of prison began. For reasons of health and others I know not of in 1985 I was placed in the status I’m now in which is “conditional liberty with restriction of movement.”

 Following the interview with Bofill in an interview with Fidel Castro the name of the human rights defender is raised. Castro dismisses his importance, but it is obvious in the context of the interview that he knows very well who this lone activist is.  Bofill went into exile and the leadership of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights passed to Gustavo Arcos who died of natural causes in 2006, but remains an icon of the Cuban human rights movement.

What started in 1976 as three activists based in Havana, in and out of prison, is now 38 years later a nationwide movement of thousands who are nonviolently engaged in the battle of ideas and the defense of human rights. Today's repression across the island continues to demonstrate that the Castro regime is terrified of them.

Today: UN to Hear from Venezuelan Protest Leaders, Cuban Dissidents

Next month marks two years since Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante were killed in what appears to have been an operation by Cuban state security. Today one of the survivors of that day, Angel Carromero will for the first time speak on the matter at an official UN meeting. There is an appeal for an international investigation into the deaths of Oswaldo and Harold please consider signing it.

 

Published by UNWatch.on June 17, 2014 in Cuba and Venezuela 

Testifying: Venezuelan student protest leaders Eusebio Costa & Alejandro Teppa; and Angel Carromero, driver in the suspicious crash that killed legendary Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá

GENEVA, June 17, 2014 – For the first time ever, the UN will hear testimony from leaders of the Venezuela protest movement, as well as from the survivor of the suspicious car crash that killed legendary Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

The hearings on human rights in Venezuela and Cuba, organized by a NGO coalition as an official event inside the United Nations Human Rights Council, will take place today in Geneva, Tuesday, June 17th.

The event is organized by the Geneva-based rights group UN Watch, and co-sponsored by German NGO International Society for Human Rights, Iniciativa por Venezuela, Human Rights Foundation, Humano y Libre, and Directorio Democrático Cubano.

For more information on the content of the Venezuelan panel, click here; for the Cuban panel, click here. 

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Eusebio Costa – 22-year-old student activist, President of the Student Center at the Catholic University Santa Rosa in Caracas. Member of the protest camp in Las Mercedes.








Alejandro Suarez Teppa – 33-year-old activist and graduate student of Philosophy.  National Board Member of the Active Youth Venezuela United (Juventud Activa Venezuela Unida – JAVU). Leader of protest camp in Stanta Fé.




Julieta Lopez -  Aunt of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has been imprisoned since February. When Ms. Lopez addressed the Human Rights Council plenary in March, the Venezuelan delegate interrupted her speech and tried to stop her from testifying. (See video here).






CUBA
“The Situation of Human Rights in Cuba—And What Really Happened to Oswaldo Payá”


Ángel Francisco Carromero Barrios, Spanish politician, driver of the car in deadly accident of Cuban democracy leader Oswaldo Payá







Regis Iglesias, Cuban poet, arrested with 74 other dissidents during the notorious 2003 Black Spring crackdown, Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. Exiled to Spain in 2010, he is spokesman for the Christian Liberation Movement

Special Mass this Friday for Souls of Two Cuban Martyrs

Honoring two young men of honor: Harold and Mario


"Death is not true when one has carried out well the work of a life"- José Martí

Harold Cepero Escalante and Mario Manuel de la Peña

On Friday, December 28, 2012 Mario Manuel de la Peña, who was born in the United States in the township of Weehawken, New Jersey in 1971, should have been 41 years old.

One month and a day later on January 29, 2013 Harold Cepero Escalante, who was born in Cuba in the municipality of Chambas in the province of Ciego de Ávila in 1980, should be celebrating his 33rd birthday.

Sadly, neither young man will have the opportunity to do so.

Mario Manuel de la Peña was one of four men shot down by Cuban MiGs on February 24, 1996 while searching for Cuban rafters in the Florida Straits in international airspace. Mario was 24 years old when he was killed.

Harold Cepero Escalante was a youth leader in the Christian Liberation Movement and died under suspicious circumstances with its founding leader Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas on July 22, 2012. Harold was 32 years old at the time of his untimely death. Family members are demanding an international investigation into the deaths of Harold and Oswaldo.

December 28 is the Day of the Holy Innocents and is a religious holiday named in honor of the young children slaughtered by order of King Herod around the time of Jesus’ birth. These young victims were called“Holy Innocents” because they were too young and innocent to have committed any sins.

Both young men were human rights defenders who nonviolently sought to save lives and rescue human dignity. 

The Cuban Democratic Directorate and members of the exile community are offering a Mass officiated by Father José Luis Menéndez to pray for the souls of Harold Cepero Escalante and Mario Manuel De la Peña on Friday, December 28, 2012 at 8pm at Corpus Christi Church located at 3220 NW 7th Avenue Miami, FL.