Former Cuban prisoner of conscience and his mom badly beaten up.

Human rights defender was beaten and dragged handcuffed over the floor more than 50 meters in front of his mother.

Iván Hernández Carrillo badly beaten on March 25, 2018

First learned of the beating of this human rights defender through the tweeter stream of Rosa María Payá. Translated and retweeted it in English as follows:

T @RosaMariaPaya He was beaten & dragged handcuffed over the floor more than 50m in front of his mother.

Castro Police tortured @ivanlibre union leader & #CubaDecide promoter weeks from #UPR examination at @UN during #SummitoftheAmericas #EndImpunity @UNWatch_es @OEA_oficial https://t.co/Dh02NB7AuD

— John Suarez ن (@johnjsuarez) March 26, 2018

Marti Noticias prepared the following report on the attack: 

"Kicking, the broken mouth", so the police beat unionist Iván Hernández Carrillo

By Luis Felipe Rojas

"They started against him. They beat him, kicked him, broke his mouth, dragged him down the street and put him in the jeep like a sack: they put him in there head first, "said Asunción Carrillo, mother of trade unionist Iván Hernández Carrillo.

"Kicking, blows in the face", described Lady in White Asunción Carrillo the beating her son received, the former political prisoner Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, at noon this Palm Sunday in Colon, Matanzas, when he tried to defend her from police forces.

The Ladies in White women's movement tried to reach churches in Cuba, from Havana, Matanzas and other localities in the interior of the country, but since March 20, 2016 the authorities have prevented it with a strong police operative.

Asunción Carrillo told Radio Martí that the arrest occurred very close to her home. "With violence, the cops grabbed me by the neck, they squeezed me by the arms," ​s​he explained.

When her son came out to stop the brutality with which they treated her "the police arrived".The woman described the outrage: "They started against him (Ivan). They beat him, kicked him, broke his mouth, dragged him down the street and put him in the jeep like a sack: they put him in there head first. " 

Asunción denounced that even handcuffed and inside the patrol car, the military continued with physically punishing her son. "Inside the jeep, the police kept hitting him in the face, then it was when they took him to the unit of the PNR (National Revolutionary Police)." 

Once at the police station, the Lady in White explained, they were taken first to a courtyard and then to separate cells. Before announcing that they would be released, they were fined 2 thousand pesos under the supposed crime of "disrespect" to the figure of the "leader" Raul Castro.

Golpeados Asunción Carrillo y su hijo Iván Hernandez Carrillo. No más represión contra los opositores cubanos pic.twitter.com/WmVoUEp5L9

— Yisabel (@Yisabellibre) March 25, 2018

In a video published by the opposition Yisabel Marrero, Asunción recounted what they did with the activist when they arrived at the police station:

"At four in the afternoon (we were) released after so much abuse and so much injustice," lamented Asunción Carrillo.  The beatings against the Ladies in White take place every week, both in front of the national headquarters, located in the Lawton neighborhood of Havana, where its main spokesperson, Berta Soler, resides, as well as in the municipalities of Cárdenas, Colón and Los Arabos, in the province of Matanzas.  Iván Hernández Carrillo, 46 ​​years old, is a human rights defender dedicated to promoting the activities of independent unionism. For this reason he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the well-known Black Spring of 2003. 

Currently, Carrillo holds the position of General Secretary of the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba (ASIC).
 

Nonviolence: Taxi Drivers on strike in Cuba

Nonviolent protests against regime imposed price controls in Havana by cabbies

Taxi drivers on strike in Havana following imposition of price controls

Taxi drivers in Havana, Cuba are protesting new onerous regulations by the Castro dictatorship that negatively impacts their livelihood by placing price controls against the cab drivers forcibly lowering their prices. It is a very old tactic by the regime to divide taxi drivers and their clients setting them against each other with regards to the costs of fares.

February 13th marked the fifth day of protests according to Cuban independent journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo over twitter. In a later tweet Carillo outlined the public threat made against taxi drivers by the Castro regime that threatened to cancel licenses, impose fines and confiscate  means of transport if rules are violated.

International news coverage is reporting on this strike in Cuba that remains illegal but spontaneously emerges among Cuban workers who feel exploited.. Although a so-called "workers state" the communist dictatorship in on the island prohibits the freedom of workers to strike. Nevertheless there have been other nonviolent strikes in Cuba resisting oppressive edicts by the Castro dictatorship involving transportation in 2010 in Bayamo and 2012 in Banes.

This nonviolent action is spontaneous and is socio-economic in origin unlike others carried out by the democratic opposition in Cuba in the past. The international community needs to follow events as they unfold and denounce regime abuses in order to minimize them.

Castro regime continues repressing

Labor union condemns mistreatment of Cuban independent labor union activist

Cuban labor union activist Iván Hernández Carrillo

This is the third installment concerning the arbitrary detention, beating and denial of blood pressure medication of Iván Hernández Carrillo on Sunday, July 31, 2016 and his release three days later in the midst of an international campaign for his release revving up.  The statement below was made public by the Union of Social Communication and Cultural Workers and translated to English by this blog.

CUBAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUES REPRESSING

The Union of Social Communication and Cultural Workers (UTC-CSC in Spanish) reports and expresses its strong condemnation of the aggression suffered by the independent unionist Iván Hernández Carrillo (Twitter), on his return to Cuba after having made a working trip abroad.

Upon calling on the authorities that his luggage be searched in a public manner in the same way as the rest of the travelers, Hernández Carrillo beaten, kicked and dragged before being taken to a police station where he remained detained and incommunicado without being allowed to receive a visit from his mother.


Once again the Castro regime demonstrates its intolerance, repressive character and absolute denial of civil rights with this new act of aggression and arbitrary detention against those who dissent from his dictatorial policy, on this occasion against an independent trade unionist who demands that the right to strike and freedom of contract of Cuban workers, now violated, be respected and rejects that trade unionism lends itself to be a puppet of the system.

Mario Rivadulla, President. 
Antonio Llaca, 
Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 
August 3, 2016.

Some good news in the midst of the downward spiral in Cuba

The power of nonviolence and solidarity

Iván Hernández Carrillo released and went to collect his belongings

Friends and family worried that Iván Hernández Carrillo would be facing more days unjustly imprisoned, facing another political show trial felt relief when two tweets back to back at 10:49am and 10:50am gave the news and are translated and joined together below:

"Thanks to all who have demonstrated their solidarity with me in this situation. Apparently they have closed the case in which they wanted to implicate me. Now I am at the airport to pick up my belongings that were taken since Sunday when the Castro regime imprisoned me."

The power of nonviolence and solidarity may not always "work" but it always works. Today it did both with the outpouring of concern and attention this former prisoner of conscience was able to get his belongings and go home.

Amidst this bit of good news one cannot forget the overall downward spiral on human rights in Cuba that leads scores of Cubans to continue to flee the island. At the same time the human rights situation overall in Latin America continues to decline with Nicaragua slipping back into dictatorship and in Venezuela, despite a valiant resistance, the emergence of a Castro-like regime continues with forced labor now being applied to Venezuelan citizens.

 

Union activist, journalist arbitrarily detained, beaten up and denied high blood pressure medication

A man of conscience whose life is in danger

Detained & beaten up labor union activist, journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo

 Iván Hernández Carrillo returned to Cuba on July 31, 2016 and was retained at the airport,  beaten up and had medication for his high blood pressure confiscated. He is both an independent labor union activist and journalist. In Cuba, under the Castro dictatorship, this makes him a target of repression. Below is an account of what took place beginning this past Sunday.

Estoy en aeropuerto d Habana #Cuba. Los agentes d Castro quieren abrir y registrar mis maletas. Me tienen q matar primero para robarme algo.

— Iván Hdez Carrillo (@ivanlibre) July 31, 2016

On July 31, 2016 at 10:25am an ominous tweet appeared stating "I'm in Havana Cuba's airport. Castro agents want to open and search my bags. They'll have to kill me first to steal something." This would be his last tweet as this blog entry is being prepared on August 2, 2016 at 1:00am.

However his plight would be reported over other twitter accounts that would reference Lady in White Asunción Carrillo and Iván Hernández Carrillo's mom who was demanding that her son be freed and the he be given his blood pressure medication. Another former prisoner of conscience would deliver a writ of habeus corpus demanding Iván's immediate release.

@ivanlibre fue arrastrado y pateado n aeropuerto y llevado a estacion policial d Stgo. d ls Vegas @RosaMariaPaya @karenonmarti @MVallejoTV

— CUBADECIDE (@CUBADECIDE) July 31, 2016

At 6:38pm on July 31, 2016 Cuba Decide reported that Iván Hernández Carrillo had been dragged and kicked at the airport and taken to the police station Santiago de Vegas.

"Todo tiene consecuencias, lo q yo hago pero lo q uds. hacen tambien" Ivan Hernandez Carrillo le dijo a sus represores @RosaMariaPaya @OLPL

— CUBADECIDE (@CUBADECIDE) July 31, 2016

Eight minutes later Cuba Decide generated another tweet quoting the Cuban activist who explained to the repressive forces of the Castro regime:  "Everything has consequences, what I do but also what you do."

Asuncion Carrillo @sucy2011 madre de @ivanlibre continua insistiendo para que entreguen medicamentos para control d presion alta a Ivan.

— CUBADECIDE (@CUBADECIDE) August 1, 2016

On August 1, 2016 at 1:38pm Cuba Decide reported that his mom, Asuncion Carrillo, @sucy2011 continues insisting they give Iván his medication for high blood pressure.

En l mañana d hoy Felix Navarro entrego n la Fiscalia Prov. d Habana 1 recurso legal d Habeas Corpus n el caso de @ivanlibre @RosaMariaPaya

— CUBADECIDE (@CUBADECIDE) August 1, 2016

Later that same day Cuba Decide tweeted above that "this morning Felix Navarro gave Havana's Provincial Prosecutor a writ of Habeas Corpus in the case of Iván Hernández Carrillo."

 The International Group for Corporate Social Responsiblity in Cuba published an article yesterday reporting that his mom made known on Monday that agents from the police station where her son is being held informed her that they had turned in Ivan's case file to the prosecutor and that he would remain detained 3 to 7 days to determine charges. During the day, an official told her that Iván could be accused of "disrespect" for refusing to have his belongings searched. 

Iván Hernández Carrillois a former prisoner of conscience who on two occasions was jailed for his dissenting views and has been detained for short periods on numerous occasions, and frequently harassed by the Castro dictatorship.

The first time was in 1992 when he was sentenced to two years in prison for "enemy propaganda" and "disrespect for the figure of Fidel Castro." The second time was eleven years later in what became known as the Black Spring on March 18, 2003 he was arbitrarily detained, subjected to a political show trial and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Iván was freed nearly eight years later on February 19, 2011 after sustained campaigns for his release from prison both internally and internationally.

Iván has broken important stories over the years and provided a historical context to where Cuba is today, this blog has also followed his activism in and out of prison over the past seven years. It was an honor to finally meet him on July 6, 2016 in Miami, Florida.

 My prayers and thoughts are with him and his family in these difficult hours.  Please spread the word to others concerning his plight and use the hashtags #FreeIvánHernándezCarrillo and #LibertadParaIvánHernándezCarrillo.

Cuban Independence Day: 1902 vs 2016

A sobering reality

Cuba 1902: On the path to freedom and independence

“Bringing down the American Flag and Raising the Cuban Flag in Havana, May 20, 1902”

Tomas Estrada de Palma becomes the first president of Cuba

One hundred and fourteen years ago today at noon the flag of the United States was brought down and the Cuban flag raised over Havana as Cuba became an independent republic and its first president, Tomas Estrada de Palma, took power and would serve four years and leave office. Prior to the Castro brothers taking over, the Cuban Republic had 12 presidents over its first 58 years which averages out to 4.8 years in office per president. Meanwhile since 1959 two brothers have run Cuba into the ground through an absolutist, totalitarian, communist dictatorship.

Cuba 2016: Over a half century under communist tyranny

#Cuba Otro 20 d mayo sin República, sin libertad y con una dictadura en manos d unos tiranos encaramados en el poder #CubaDecide

— Iván Hdez Carrillo (@ivanlibre) May 20, 2016

Former prisoner of conscience and independent journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo tweets: "Another May 20th without a Republic, without freedom and with a dictatorship in the hands of some tyrants perched in power."

Why have United States presidents only visited dictators and strongman in Cuba and not their democratic counterparts while in power? President Coolidge visited Dictator Machado in 1928 and President Obama visited Dictator Castro in 2016.

Last month the tyrants presided over another rubber stamp session of the Communist Party Congress with the two brothers now in their 57th year of absolute power.

Tyrants Fidel and Raul Castro now in their 57th year of presiding over Cuba's destruction

  Hopefully one day soon Cubans on the island will regain their popular sovereignty and once again proudly declare their freedom.

Update: Cuban political prisoner and hunger striker lies near death

"Marcelino Abreu was unjustly jailed for speaking his mind: Down with Fidel. Now he is on hunger strike for his freedom." - Marc Masferrer over twitter January 21, 2014

Marcelino Abreu Bonora

 Over twitter beginning at 9:44pm on January 23, 2014  and ending 11 minutes later at 9:55pm with the last of  five tweets the independent journalist and human rights defender Iván Hernández Carrillo made the following update on the health status of Marcelino Abreu Bonora: 

"Yesterday political prisoner Marcelino Abreu Bonora was visited by his wife in the National Hospital, where he is kept isolated in a serious state. Martha Velazquez said she saw her husband, Marcelino Abreu Bonora, the hunger striker, very yellow including the palms of his hands. Marta explains that Marcelino Abreu Bonora continues with low arterial blood pressure, headaches, almost fainting, and his voice is breaking when he tries to speak. Marcelino Abreu Bonora can no longer fend for himself, and since January 16 the regime doesn't allow his wife to even help him bathe. Hunger striker and political prisoner Marcelino Abreu Bonora worse than this recent photograph provided by Hablemos Press."

This update should raise concerns about the plight of this Cuban hunger striker whose condition has continued to deteriorate and as was reported back on January 19th is near death.

Teenager run-over and killed by drunk Cuban state security agent

 "The greatest incitement to guilt is the hope of sinning with impunity."- Cicero

On December 19, 2013 at 11:12pm Iván Hernández Carrillo tweeted the following disturbing news that a teenager was walking on a sidewalk in Cuba early on Saturday night when he was run down by a drunken state security agent who was speeding in his car and the youth died six days later.  The agent goes by the name Alejandro Met and continues operating with impunity and the victim's family say that there is a cover up underway.

In TwitLonger the Cuban dissident and independent journalist presented the facts in greater detail followed by an English translation:

#Cuba State Security Official driving drunk runs over young 19 year old causing his death: 
On Saturday December 14 around 8 pm a car driven by a state security officer in a state of intoxication called Alejandro Met ran over Leoban Morales Navarro, a young 19-year-old on the sidewalk who died this morning at 10:00 am as a result of injuries and wounds that caused brain death. The official of the political police continues in the street without the authorities investigating what happened. Including, according to the family of the teenager, trying to hide the evidence that the officer was traveling at excessive speed in a populated area and driving under the influence of alcohol. Family members ask for a transparent investigation and to bring before the courts the military official that occasioned the death of the young man.

This is not the first time that something like this has happened.

On July 15, 2011, Amado Interian, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in MININT (The Ministry of the Interior) shot and killed 14 year old Angel Izquierdo for stealing a fruit.

Cuba is a dictatorship and its agents can and do operate with complete impunity. Even a visiting foreign national was gunned down, his wallet taken and the official responsible never identified or brought to justice. This was the fate of a young Dane, Joachim Løvschall, in March of 1997. If not for the courage and persistence of the family we would have never known of these incidents.

How many others are there that we've never heard of because family members were intimidated into keeping silent? Will you spread the word of this latest atrocity and back the family's demand for a transparent investigation?

Cuban sentenced to 2 years in prison for being a labor activist

Ulises González Moreno (photo: Ivan Hernandez Carrillo)

Iván Hernández Carrillo is reporting over his twitter account that Cuban labor union activist Ulises González Moreno was sentenced on November 28, 2012 to two years in prison for his labor organizing activities in a trial whose outcome had already been decided before it even started. The imprisoned activist's wife, Jacqueline Daly, is devastated by the news.

According to Cuba Sindical, González Moreno is 45 years old and was detained on November 15, 2012 at his home located in Concordia # 414 apartment 2 in Central Havana by two plain clothes state security agents who identified themselves as members of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).

The following day when his wife went to where her husband was being detained she was told that he would be tried for "Peligrosidad Social" (Social Dangerousness), which indicates that the activist has a predilection to in a possible future commit a crime against the regime. This law has been used to persecute nonviolent activists.

Human Rights Watch in their 2009 report  New Castro, Same Cuba stated that the "Criminal Code offense of 'dangerousness,' which allows authorities to imprison individuals before they have committed any crime, on the suspicion that they are likely to commit an offense in the future. This 'dangerousness' provision is overtly political, defining as 'dangerous' any behavior that contradicts Cuba's socialist norms." This is a thought crime and is profoundly Orwellian.

Ulises is a prisoner of conscience arrested, convicted and sentenced for what he thought and for what he might have done in the future as a labor organizer.

The following is a translation and compilation of some of the tweets sent out by Iván last night:

@ivanlibre #Cuba As customary, the tyranny rigged an arbitrary trial condemning Ulises González Moreno for being an independent unionist 

@ivanlibre #Cuba telephone of Jacqueline Daly, wife of Ulises González, condemned to 2 years in prison, is +0115358061724 @RRepublicaCuba

@ivanlibre Once again it is proven that in #Cuba justice does not exist, here justice is blind. pic.twitter.com/0yTU3MeF 

 @ivanlibre Ulises González Moreno's wife very tense, disgusted, sad for her husband's unjust penalty of 2 years in prison pic.twitter.com/oVgSzVLp

Ulises González Moreno and his wife Jacqueline Daly (photo: Ivan Hernandez Carrillo)

 One day after independent journalist and human rights defender Antonio Rodiles was released after 19 days in prison another activist, Ulises González Moreno, is unjustly sentenced to two years in prison for being an independent labor union activist and human rights defender. The repression in Cuba by a half-century old totalitarian dictatorship continues as does the need to resist it.