Cuba: Releasing with one hand while crushing with the other

In through one door and out through the other.

Ermis Carbonell protesting to be allowed to finish his studies

 Less than a month after President Obama's and Raul Castro's simultaneous speeches announcing the normalization of relations, the release of three Cuban spies ( one serving a life sentence for murder), and the further loosening of sanctions the results are unsurprising.

On the one hand there is the high profile release of 53 political prisoners along with the high profile coverage of the repression meted out against a daughter of the nomenklatura who dared to try to organize a free speech happening in the Plaza of the Revolution.

On the other hand dissidents have been arrested and brutally beaten down to the point that teeth have been knocked out and bones broken, but since they are not sons or daughters of the revolutionary elite their suffering doesn't make the news. For example today over twitter the Christian Liberation Movement highlighted the plight of one of their members who had engaged in a peaceful protest (video) to demand the right to return to university to complete his studies. Unfortunately in Cuba the the regime says that the "universities are for revolutionaries" and if one is a dissident one no longer has a right to an education. Ermis was expelled in 2013 with only three classes remaining to complete his studies. The expulsion was politically motivated.

"Ermis Carbonell of Christian Liberation Movement in Santiago de Cuba detained for protesting because they won't allow him to finish his studies. He received a beating, and is detained in a motorized unit in Santiago charged with contempt. According to Christian Liberation Movement spokesperson Regis Iglesias: "Ermis was beaten in the Palace and they fractured one arm.They transferred him to Motorized. Reported the MCL Provincial Coordinator Marcos Diaz."

On January 10, 2014 over twitter Rosa María Payá Acevedo tweeted: "As releases are announced Yosvani Melchor is transferred to a maximum security prison." This young man who is developmentally disabled has been jailed in order to blackmail his mom into becoming an informant for state security against the Christian Liberation Movement.

Mother and her unjustly imprisoned son Yosvani

Last Thursday night (January 8th) or Friday morning (January 9th) Alberto Romero, a Cuban American attorney visiting family in Cuba, was killed. Circumstances surrounding his death remain murky at this hour but is cause for concern.

Alberto Romero killed in Cuba

Prior to that on December 26, 2014 the dissident Marcelino Abreu was arrested for wearing a change bracelet and was repeatedly kicked by state security who in the process knocked out a tooth and broke his nose. He was released on January 6, 2014.

Marcelino Abreu beaten bloody for wearing a bracelet

 The laws that outlaw the basic exercise of fundamental human rights have not been changed one iota and the prisons will continue to be filled with those who dissent, and their will be new prisoners of conscience. The climate of fear continues in Cuba under the current regime that the United States will later this month pursue normal relations with.

Cuban dissident and rapper Angel Yunier Remón Arzuaga, who on October 15, 2014 was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in a sham trial. Angel was tear gassed and arrested on March 21, 2013, for criticizing the Castro regime and held since that time in conditions that can only be described as inhumane. He was finally released on January 8, 2015 and gave the following message:

“…I’m not really free yet, because our country is not yet free, but I am now alongside my children and my wife. I am here again, confronting the situation that all us Cubans have to face.”

Cuban rapper sentenced to six years in prison for his critical songs

"Art is inherently political. It is always political. It has always been political.It has political aspects. And that which we term political art only enhances that political aspect of art. It is taking up political themes and makes these themes its own." - Petr Motyčka, Art, Society, and Politics: Artists or Activists?, Forum 2000

Angel Yunier Remón Arzuaga sentenced to 6 years

Cuban dissident and rapper Angel Yunier Remón Arzuaga, whose stage name is "el Critico del Arte" (the 'Art Critic'), on October 15, 2014 was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in a judicial process that fell far short of international standards. Angel was tear gassed and arrested on March 21, 2013, for criticizing the Castro regime and jailed since that time in conditions that can only be described as inhumane.  El Critico, is a member of the rap duo: Los Hijos Que Nadie Quiso (The Children that no one wanted). Other members of the group were targeted by regime agents.

One of them Rodolfo Ramirez, known by his rapping name as El Primario, member of the hip-hop duo El Primario y Julito, was the victim of a brutal beating which left him with memory loss and serious injuries on his head. The attack occurred on July 21, 2013 at the Malecon (Sea wall) of Havana.

Meanwhile, Angel's plight has been documented by Free Muse, an organization that advocates freedom of expression for musicians and the Czech NGO, People in Need. An example of the lyrics that got the Art Critic into trouble can be found in the song "Mi Delito" (My Crime) were provided by People in Need and are excerpted below:

I did not invent the acts of repudiation
I did not sink the 13 de Marzo tug
I was not the one who killed Boitel 
I am not guilty for Mariel
I do not repress those who think differently
I did not lock up 75 innocent people
Look how many offenses you have kept hidden under lock and key
Yes this is my crime
To talk about what you have not.

Status Update from Gorki on Show Trial and need for Solidarity in Cuba

The importance of solidarity and international attention

Rodolfo Ramirez, rapping name El Primario

  Yesterday the news arrived first as rumor that the trial had been suspended then at 3:27pm over Facebook Gorki Águila gave the following status update:

At 2:00pm I was informed that the oral presentation of the trial scheduled for Tuesday, February 11 was suspended due to health reasons of my lawyer ... At no time did an official notice arrive to me so right now I am heading to the Marianao Summary Court 100 & 33 to make known my concerns with regards to this news and that they not be given any argument for accusing me of not appearing ... I ask the people who have joined the solidarity campaign not to abandon denouncing this because the authorities may take advantage of a break to attack with impunity. Any other information I will try to make available. Thanks to all friends. 

A LAS 2 PM FUI INFORMADO DE QUE LA VISTA ORAL DEL JUCIO DEL MARTES 11 DE FEBRERO FUE SUSPENDIDA DEBIDO A RAZONES DE SALUD DE MI ABOGADA ..... EN NINGUN MOMENTO ME LLEGO UNA NOTIFICACION OFICIAL POR ESO AHORA MISMO ME DIRIJO HACIA LA SALA SUMARIA DE MARIANAO 100 Y 33 PARA HACER CONSTAR MI PROCUPACION ANTE ESTA NOTICIA Y QUE NO TENGAN POSIBLE ARGUMENTO ALGUNO PARA ACUSARME DE NO PRESENTACION ..... LES PIDO A LAS PERSONAS QUE SE HAN SUMEDO A LA CAMPANA DE SOLIDARIDAD QUE NO ABANDONEN LA DENUNCIA PUESTO QUE LAS AUTORIDADES PUEDEN APROVECHAR DICHA PAUSA PARA ARREMETER DESPUES IMPUNEMENTE . CUALQUIER OTRA INFORMACION TRATARE DE HACRELA LLEGAR .GRACIAS A TODOS LOS AMIGOS


At 9:32am  today Gorki posted the following Facebook status update:

If the alleged justice of the Castros make a mockery of these documents it is proof of its arbitrariness. Their laws mean nothing to them when it comes to achieve their objectives... In my 2008 trial they accused me of pre-criminal social dangerous conduct but the solidarity was so great that they were obliged to change the charge to disobedience and a fine of 600 pesos for the alleged crime. This is only achieved through unity. Lets unite once again and change the laws of the Castros, Viva Liberty. Thanks to all friends

SI LA SUPUESTA JUSTICIA DE LOS CASTRO SE BURLA DE ESTOS DOCUMENTOS ES PRUEVA DE SU ADBITRARIEDAD .. SUS LEYES NO SIGNICAN NADA PARA ELLOS MISMOS A LA HORA DE CUMPLIR SUS PROPOSITOS .... EN EL JUCIO DEL 2008 ME ACUSABAN DE PELIGROCIDAD SOCIAL CONDUCTA PREDELICTIVA PERO LA SOLIDARIDAD FUE TAN GRANDE QUE SE VIERON OBLIGADOS A CAMBIAR EL DELITO POR UNA MULTA DE 600 PESOS EN UN SUPUESTO DELITO DE DESOBEDIENCIA, ESTO UNICAMENTE LO LOGRA LA UNIDAD , UNAMONOS UNA VEZ MAS Y CAMBIEMOS LAS LEYES DE LOS CASTRO, VIVA LA LIBERTAD . GRACIAS A TODOS LOS AMIGOS

 The importance of generating and maintaining attention is critically important for anyone who dissents from the official government line. Rodolfo Ramirez, known by his rapping name as El Primario, member of the hip-hop duo El Primario y Julito,who appears in the above video was so badly beaten by an agent of state security that he is suffering from memory loss, and his face is completely disfigured. Another who is not in the video but is a fellow rapper is Angel Yunier Remón Arzuaga, whose stage name is "el Critico del Arte" (the 'Art Critic') he has also been badly beaten up and jailed since March 26, 2013 and has been so mistreated that it has driven him to hunger strikes that have compounded the deterioration of his health caused by the beatings.

At the same time that the campaign for solidarity has provided much needed protection for Gorki in other parts of Cuba the repression continues. On  the mornings of February 5th and again on February 11th the home of Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" was invaded and ransacked and Antúnez violently arrested and taken out of the city and held for hours. All his belongings seized during the first raid. No search warrant or notice that his property was to be confiscated for some legal reason. Nothing.  His wife, Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, detained, abused and beaten on February 5th as she was going to the offices of State Security to ascertain her husband's plight. This morning, February 11, at 6:00am without warning their home was invaded again and both were detained and beaten. This has led Antúnez to take the extreme measure yesterday to announce a hunger and thirst strike in protest.

We must remain vigilant for Gorki. The show trial has been suspended for the time being and can be reconvened at any moment. The dictatorship hates what he represents, and as we saw with Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas even high visibility is not enough to protect one who lives free in Cuba. We need to continue gathering signatures for the petition demanding his freedom. At the same time there are others who also need our attention.