Free Ferrer: Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia has been detained without due process for 100 days in Cuba

Arbitrary detention and ill treatment.

  
Today marks one hundred days José Daniel Ferrer García, head of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU is the acronym in Spanish) has been locked away without due process since October 1, 2019 while the Castro regime engineered social media campaigns slander him. Jailed at the same time were Fernando González Vailant, José Pupo Chaveco and Roilán Zárraga Ferrer, also members of UNPACU. 

It is important to recall that both José Daniel Ferrer García and his brother Luis Enrique were jailed in March 2003 and sentenced to 25 years and 28 years respectively in prison for their role in the Varela Project, a citizen imitative to reform the Cuban system. 

These years in prison were traumatic. Not all who went in made it out alive. Others left the prison inoculated with illnesses that would claim their lives prematurely. Next month on February 23, 2020 will mark 10 years since the day that the world learned that Orlando Zapata Tamayo had died on hunger strike, after years of mistreatment, torture, and the periodic denial of water by prison authorities.

Prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo

Orlando's death combined with the activism of the Ladies in White, the mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives of the 75 Cubans arbitrarily detained and condemned to long prison sentences spent years campaigning for their freedom, created a critical mass that led to the release of all of them by 2011.

Luis Enrique Ferrer García left prison and went into exile in November of 2010. Jose Daniel was finally released in 2011 and remained in Cuba.

Imprisoned during Cuba's Black Spring in 2003

On November 8, 2019 activists and human rights defenders gathered outside of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC and demanded freedom for José Daniel Ferrer García, Fernando González Vailant, José Pupo Chaveco, Roilán Zárraga Ferrer and the scores of other political prisoners. 

On November 13, 2019 the official Communist newspaper, Granma, published an article attacking the Cuban regime opponent, and slandering him with no right to reply.

On November 14, 2019 Amnesty International issued an “Urgent Action Update: Opposition leader at risk of torture” stating that “recent alarming reports suggest [ Jose Daniel Ferrer] may have been tortured or ill-treated while in detention. ...”

On November 22, 2019 Amnesty International formally requested access to Cuba to visit Jose Daniel Ferrer. To date, they have not been granted entry. 

In December 2019, several U.S. Senators called for the release of Jose Daniel. Congressman Mario Diaz Balart introduced a resolution demanding the release of the UNPACU leader and all other political prisoners.

Today, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a coalition representing over 50 opposition organizations inside and outside of Cuba issued a statement denounced the 100 day kidnapping and torture of José Daniel Ferrer García, and the Assembly also highlighted the plight of  Fernando González Vailant, José Pupo Chaveco y Roilán Zárraga Ferrer. All are being held in “Aguadores” prison in Santiago de Cuba.

CubaDecide launched an initiative "100 Voices around the world demand the immediate release of Jose Daniel Ferrer who is completing 100 days of unjust imprisonment in Cuba." They have called for a massive effort on social networks that today became a call to action for national parliaments of the world's democracies to demand that the Castro regime free José Daniel Ferrer.

 The campaign over social media is using the hashtags #FreeFerrer, #JailedForWhat? and #PoliticalPrisoners and their Spanish translations.
  

King and Queen of Spain are ignoring Cuban dissidents

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." -  Desmond Tutu

The Miami Herald, November 13, 2019

King and Queen of Spain are turning a blind eye to Cuba’s oppression | Opinion 

Diaz-Canel, left, with Spain’s King Felipe VI review troops in Havana, Cuba, R Espinosa AP

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article237328414.html#storylink=cpy

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia arrived in Cuba for an official visit on Nov. 11, just days before the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana by Spanish representatives.

Before the royal visit it was announced that the Royal couple would not meet with dissidents.

Amnesty International sent King Felipe a letter, made public on Nov. 8, petitioning him to make four requests during his visit to Cuba: Release six Cuban prisoners of conscience, José Pilot Guide , Silverio Portal Contreras, Mitzael Díaz Paseiro, Eliecer Bandera Barrera, Edilberto Ronal Azuaga, and Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces and repeal their sentences; Inform José Daniel Ferrer García of the charges against him or release him. Meanwhile, ensure that he has access to his family, lawyer and medical care; End harassment of Cuban artists Luis Manuel Otero and Amaury Pacheco; Repeal Decree 349 that prohibits all artistic activity without prior approval from the regime.

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, and the king must do what Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the ultimate political authority, instructs. Unfortunately, Sánchez is a member of the Spanish Socialist Party.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez with representative of Castro dictatorship in 2018

He visited Cuba in November 2018 and failed to speak publicly for Cuban prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet or address the July 22, 2012, murder of Spanish Cuban dual citizen Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas. Instead, Sánchez pledged to pour money into the Cuban dictatorship that strengthened the military and police state that oppresses Cubans and Venezuelans. This has been the first visit to Cuba by a Spanish prime minister in 20 years. Unlike his predecessor, José María Aznar, he did not meet with Cuban dissidents. He has now instructed King Felipe to do the same. This is a sad time for those of us who have affection for the Spanish people.

Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar with Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas

The Spanish prime minister’s failure to be consistent on human rights is appalling. On Oct. 24, Sanchez presided over the exhumation of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen and said this “ends a moral affront — the exaltation of a dictator in a public place.” But this politician’s outrage did not extend to Fidel Castro’s regime declaring three days of mourning when Francisco Franco died in 1975, or the “special relationship” between the two despots. Moral blindness is found across the political spectrum, but Sanchez reached new lows in his relationship with the Castro dictatorship. 

Che Guevara attends bull fight with Franco's secret police in 1959

The so-called “special relationship” between Castro and Franco, which saw Che Guevara attending a bull fight with members of Franco’s secret police, was not so special on the Cuban side. In their 2017 book,  History of a challenge five decades of relentless struggle of the Civil Guard against ETA (Historia de un desafío: Cinco décadas de lucha sin cuartel de la Guardia Civil contra ETA), Manuel Sánchez and Manuela Simón reveal that, “In the spring of 1964, ETA militants received training in Cuba with lessons on kidnappings, subversion and sabotage. Thus began the ideological and terrorist training that would later be a constant in the history of the terrorist band.” 

The Cuban Communist dictatorship has a long history of sponsoring and engaging in terrorism around the world, and Spain was not exempt.

ETA terrorists were trained by Cubans in 1964 according to 2017 book.

This year, the great city of Havana deserves to be honored on its 500th anniversary and its origins remembered. Havana was founded at its present location by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1519. The city would thrive and flourish for centuries, but the arrival of the Castro regime in 1959 ushered in six decades of decay and destruction that continue. Communist rule has been hard on the historic city, with many sections falling apart.

Sadly, it’s all too clear why Havana inspired German filmmaker Florian Borchmeyer in 2006 to make a documentary titled “Havana — The New Art of Making Ruins.”

Parts of old Havana are literally crumbling away.

John Suarez is executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, based in Falls Church, Virginia.

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article237328414.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article237328414.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article237328414.html#storylink=cpy

Amnesty International issues Urgent Action for 43 Cuban dissidents arrested in Eastern Cuba

Document - Cuba: Crackdown on Cuban dissidents

UA: 99/12 Index: AMR 25/012/2012 Cuba Date: 4 April 2012

URGENT ACTION

CRACKDOWN ON CUBAN DISSIDENTS

The authorities have arrested 43 government critics in the province of Santiago de Cuba . This is a clear attempt to crush the emerging peaceful dissident movement in eastern Cuba.

Cuban security forces detained 43 government critics in three locations in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, in the afternoon of 2 April. Most of the 43 are members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Union Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU). Their homes were searched and office equipment, including computers, was apparently confiscated. Among them are UNPACU coordinator José Daniel Ferrer García, a former prisoner of conscience, and his wife Belkis Cantillo Ramírez, who is a member of the protest group Ladies in White. About 100 officials from the Department of State Security and police officers arrived at their house in Palmarito de Cauto at 2pm. According to local sources, the officers reportedly broke in and arrested Jose Daniel, Belkis and four others. The same thing was seen at the house of UNPACU member Raumel Vinajera Estive in Palma de Soriano, where he and about 15 others were arrested. Others were arrested in El Caney, close to the city of Santiago de Cuba. Ten of those arrested are women, all members of the Ladies in White.

Since shortly before the Pope’s arrival in Cuba on 28 March, the telephone connections of government critics have apparently been blocked by the authorities, making it difficult to identify where the detainees are being held. Some of them are known to be held at the “Micro 9” police station in the city of Santiago de Cuba, but the whereabouts of the majority are still unknown. Amnesty International believes that those detained may be prisoners of conscience. These detentions are a clear attempt by the authorities to crush the emerging peaceful dissident movement in Santiago de Cuba and neighbouring eastern provinces.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to reveal immediately the whereabouts of all those detained during security force operations on 2 April in Santiago de Cuba Province;

Urging the authorities to release them immediately if they are still detained, unless there is sufficient evidence to charge them with an internationally-recognizable criminal offence;

Calling on them to cease blocking the telephone lines of government critics;

Urging them to cease immediately the harassment and intimidation of citizens who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.

P LEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 MAY 2012 TO :

Head of State and Government

Raúl Castro Ruz

Presidente de la República de Cuba

La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign Ministry)

+1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)

Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Interior Minister

General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra

Ministro del Interior y Prisiones

Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)

Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

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

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

CRACKDOWN ON CUBAN DISSIDENTS

ADditional Information

Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba from 28-30 March, where he celebrated open air masses in the city of Santiago de Cuba and the capital, Havana, and held meetings with the leaders of the Cuban Catholic Church and the Cuban authorities. Government critics had hoped the Pope’s visit might herald an opening-up by the authorities, but instead they were subjected to further repression. Local sources say over 200 government critics were detained during the visit, and many others held under house arrest, with the express purpose of preventing them from travelling to attend the masses and take part in protest activities. Those who were detained or placed under house arrest are all believed to have been released. From just before the Pope arrived in Cuba, the mobile and landline connections belonging to government critics, human rights activists and independent journalists have been tampered with, preventing them from reporting on repression to audiences within Cuba and also to the outside world.

Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011 following eight years' imprisonment. He was one of 75 people who had been arrested and sentenced following a crackdown on dissidents in March 2003. Amnesty International adopted all 75 as prisoners of conscience, as they had acted non-violently and were imprisoned under Cuban legislation which illegitimately criminalizes political dissent. José Daniel Ferrer García was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in connection with his participation in the Varela Project, which aimed to ask for a national referendum on democratic reforms. Article 31.1.4 of the Cuban Criminal Code states that conditional release allows prisoners to see out the remainder of their sentence outside prison provided they demonstrate “good behaviour” (buena conducta). He was arrested in Havana on 21 February 2012 and held incommunicado until his release without charge three days later.

The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is an umbrella group of dissident organizations, based primarily in Santiago de

Cuba, but also in neighbouring provinces of eastern Cuba. UNPACU seeks democratic change in Cuba via non-violent means.

Since UNPACU was set up, in mid-2011, its members have faced constant harassment and intimidation from the authorities, including arbitrary detention. One of UNPACU’s members, prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza, died in January 2012 following a hunger strike in protest at his four-year prison sentence following a summary trial. This repression is part of a general crackdown against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba which has gathered pace since mid-2011.

The Ladies in White campaign for the release of political prisoners and for the lifting of restrictions on fundamental civil and political freedoms in Cuba. Members of the organization have been repeatedly prevented from meeting for any purpose, including to attend mass on Sundays.

Names: José Daniel Ferrer García, Belkis Cantillo Ramírez, Raumel Vinajera Estive, UNPACU members

Gender m/f: both

UA: 99/12 Index: AMR 25/012/2012 Issue Date: 4 April 2012

Amnesty International Urgent Action for José Daniel Ferrer García

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Cuba Date: 23 February 2012
URGENT ACTION
EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED

Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García’s whereabouts are unknown following his alleged arrest in central Havana, Cuba, on 21 February.

José Daniel Ferrer García

Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who is on conditional release from prison, is believed to have been re-arrested in central Havana on 21 February. He had travelled to Havana from Santiago de Cuba province to meet with diplomats, human rights activists and dissidents in connection with his work as the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations based in eastern Cuba.

On 21 February, José Daniel Ferrer García was travelling by taxi with Elizardo Sánchez, coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional, CCDHRN), whose office he had just visited. Elizardo Sánchez exited the taxi in the central neighbourhood of Vedado and five minutes later received a text message from José Daniel Ferrer García which stated he was being detained by police. On 22 February, the Elizardo Sánchez contacted the police information service and was informed that there was no record of José Daniel Ferrer García being held in any detention facility.

There has been no news of his whereabouts since then.

José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011, having served eight of his 25 year sentence. Under the terms of his release, he could be sent back to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence - 16 years. Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attempt to repress the peaceful dissident activities he and members of UNPACU are undertaking in eastern Cuba.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to provide information as to the circumstances of José Daniel Ferrer García’s arrest on 21 February and immediately reveal his current whereabouts;

Urging them, that if detained, to immediately release José Daniel Ferrer García, unless there is sufficient evidence to charge him with an internationally-recognizable criminal offence;

Urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and all other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 APRIL 2012 TO:

Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign
Ministry); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)

Salutation: Your Excellency
Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior,
Plaza de la Revolución,
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu

Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscalía General de la República,
Fiscalía General de la República,
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro
Habana
La Habana, Cuba

Salutation: Dear Attorney General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011 following eight years imprisonment. He was one of 75 people who were arrested and sentenced following a crackdown on Cuban dissidence in March 2003. All 75 were adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, as they had acted non-violently and were imprisoned under Cuban legislation which illegitimately criminalizes political dissent. José Daniel Ferrer García was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in relation to his participation in the Varela Project, which aimed at requesting a national referendum on democratic reforms. Article 31.1.4 of the Cuban Criminal Code states that conditional release allows a prisoner to see out the remainder of their sentence outside prison provided they demonstrate “good behaviour” (“buena conducta”).

The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is an umbrella group of dissident organizations, based primarily in Santiago de Cuba, but also in neighbouring provinces of eastern Cuba. UNPACU seeks democratic change in Cuba via non-violent means.

Since UNPACU’s creation in mid-2011, its members have faced constant harassment and intimidation form the Cuban authorities, including arbitrary detention. One of UNPACU’s members, prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza died in January 2012 following a hunger strike in protest at his four-year prison sentence following a summary trial. This repression is part of a general crackdown against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba which has gathered pace since mid-2011.

Name: José Daniel Ferrer García
Gender m/f: m
UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Issue Date: 23 February 2012

Questions for Hugo Chavez on the Health Care System in Cuba

José Daniel Ferrer García

Earlier today on his twitter account former Cuban prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who was unjustly imprisoned from March 2003 through March 2011, and continues his vocation as a Cuban human rights defender
and pro-democracy activist asked a number of open questions to Hugo
Chavez, of Venezuela, currently in Cuba recovering from surgery:

"Chavez recently said Cuba has one of the world's best health systems. I wonder what he'd say if he were an ordinary Cuban?"

"What would Chavez say of the Cuban health system if he were family of one of the patients who died in Mazorra?"

"Continuing with Chavez. What would he say of Cuban health care if he were a widower of one of the women who died in the Palma Soriano maternity hospital?"

Jose Daniel then concludes with a tweet that placed the above questions into the proper context: "The Cuban health system, like so many other things, works very well, yes, for foreigners and the nomenklatura."

Foto from EFE of Cuban healthcare facility today