Amnesty International denounces that "family of [Cuban] prisoner of conscience denied visits

Reported on this last month. Amnesty International confirmed and published the report yesterday.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION

Cuba: Family of prisoner of conscience denied visits

7 June 2018, Index number: AMR 25/8537/2018

Cuban authorities have suspended family visiting rights of human rights defender, Dr Eduardo Cardet, for six months as punishment for his family’s activism on his case, according to his wife. He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.

On 26 May 2018, the head of the Cuba SI prison in Holguín, Cuba, informed the family of Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción that his rights to family visits have been suspended for six months on account of the complaints that his family have made to the international press and other human rights mechanisms.

Yaimaris Vecino, his wife, told Amnesty International that when she and her children and Eduardo’s mother tried to visit Eduardo they could not see him. Authorities verbally informed the family that Eduardo´s visiting rights had been suspended. According to her, Eduardo is also typically allowed to make calls to his family each Tuesday. On Tuesday 5 June, he did not call, suggesting he was also denied access to his regular phone call.

Eduardo is the leader of the pro-democracy movement Christian Liberation Movement (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación, MCL). He has been imprisoned in Holguín since his arrest on 30 November 2016, five days after the death of the former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro. Prior to his arrest, Eduardo Cardet gave a number of interviews published in international media in which he was critical of the Cuban government.

Under international law, prisoners have the right to communicate with the outside world, in particular to receive visits from their families and lawyers, and to access adequate health care. Any restriction on this right, must be necessary and proportionate to achieve its aim, or may amount to an infringement of the right to private and family life. Such rights are fundamental safeguards against other human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to release human rights defender Dr Eduardo Cardet immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;

Urging them to ensure that access to his family is immediately reinstated and that he is allowed regular contact with his family and the outside world, as well as access to lawyers and medical care of his choosing.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 19 JULY TO:

President of the Republic
Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba.
Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba Office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN, New York)
Email: cuba_onu@cubamission.com (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency / Su Excelencia

Ministry of Interior
Vicealmirante Julio César Gandarilla Bermejo
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución. La Habana, Cuba.
Fax: + 53 7 855 6621 + 53 7 8301 566 (or +1 212 779 1697 - via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu
Salutation: Dear Minister / Señor Ministro.

And copies to:

Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación (MCL)
Email: info@oswaldopaya.org
Twitter: @oswaldopaya

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the fourth update of UA 32/17. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/7759/2018/en/

Additional Information
According to five witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International by telephone on the condition of anonymity, Eduardo Cardet was pushed off his bicycle and violently detained in the early evening of 30 November 2016 by at least four plain clothed and one uniformed police officer as he returned home after visiting his mother. According to his wife, who witnessed her husband’s detention with their two children, Eduardo Cardet is charged with attacking an official of the state (atentado). This offence is covered under Article 142.1 of the Criminal Code. One officer is alleging that Eduardo Cardet pushed him during his arrest. All witnesses who spoke with Amnesty International counter this allegation, and state that Eduardo Cardet was quickly and violently restrained by plain clothed officials, placed in handcuffs, and beaten, and had no opportunity for self-defence. The witnesses believe that Eduardo Cardet was arrested for his beliefs and ideas. Amnesty International was able to review a copy of the sentence at appeal emitted by the provincial court of Holguin. The sentence makes no mention of the original grounds for the arrest, suggesting the arrest was arbitrary. On 17 May, the Popular Provincial Court of Holguín (Tribunal Provincial Popular de Holguín) ratified in appeal the judgement handed down on 20 March sentencing Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción to three years in prison.

The Christian Liberation Movement (Movimento Cristiano Liberación, MCL) is a prominent actor in the pro-democracy movement in Cuba. According to its website, it is a movement for peaceful and democratic change and respect for human dignity. It was founded in 1988 by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, who became a visible figure of the Cuban political opposition, and four other activists. Amnesty International has documented harassment and intimidation of members of the MCL for decades. In 1991, after Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas presented a petition calling for a national referendum relating to constitutional reform, he had his home destroyed by over 200 people, said to be members of a Rapid Response Brigade. After Oswaldo Payá announced his intention to put himself forward as a candidate for deputy to the National Assembly for the municipality of Cerro, Havana, members of his organization were reportedly subjected to frequent questioning and short-term detention.

In an interview published on 16 September 2016 by ABC International, Eduardo Cardet stated: “Political activities are passed off as criminal offences such as inciting public scandal, contempt of or offences against the authorities, and the political police use these classifications to lock up dissidents" (Se disfraza la actividad política con hechos delictivos comunes, por ejemplo, escándalo público, desacato, atentado, figuras que utiliza la policía política para encarcelar a los disidentes).

Cuba is closed to Amnesty International and nearly all independent international human rights monitors.

Name: Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción
Gender m/f: Male
Further information on UA: 32/17 Index: AMR 25/8537/2018 Issue Date: 07 June 2018

Update on Cuban prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet: health worsening, not being provided religious assistance

One year and three months unjustly imprisoned, Eduardo Cardet, finds his health worsening and not being provided religious assistance following a brutal attack on December 19, 2017.

Cuban prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet Concepción

 Yesterday the Christian Liberation Movement, a democratic opposition movement based in Cuba, posted in an update on the condition of their imprisoned national coordinator Dr. Eduardo Cardet. He is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience who has been subjected to brutal beatings and attacks by regime officials and prison inmates (most likely on orders of prison officials). Dr. Cardet, who is also a medical doctor, husband, and father of two faces a worsening health situation, according to his wife, Dr. Yaimaris Vecino who visited him on March 16, 2018, with a poor prognosis and due to bureaucratic hurdles from both the Catholic Church and the Castro regime is not receiving religious attendance. 

"Eduardo was severely beaten in prison while being held with his hands tied."

UPDATED INFORMATION to March 16, 2018

Update 03/16 The state of health of #EduardoCardet worsens. His wife, Dr. Yaimaris Vecino (who visited him today) reports that his asthma is worsening as well as another illness that does not have a good prognosis.
 
On the other hand, Eduardo only receives evasions from the authorities when he tries to find out the status of his prison situation. [He is being housed with the same prisoners who brutally beat him and repeatedly stabbed him with a sharp object on December 19, 2017.]

Update 03/14 Eduardo Cardet with intense asthma attacks.

Update 03/07 Eduardo Cardet with health problems due to worsening of his asthma

On March 8, 2018 Cubanet reported that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had issued precautionary measures for Eduardo Cardet and on February 12, 2018 requested information from the State on what had happened with a span of five days of not receiving any response to date."

Due to the events, the IACHR has requested that the Cuban Government "adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the life and personal integrity of Mr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción" and that he "have adequate medical access, according to his needs," according to the memorandum that has been sent to the Cuban authorities.

The text also requests that the Cuban government "arrange the measures to be implemented with the beneficiary (Cardet) and his representatives", as well as "report on the actions taken in order to investigate the alleged facts that led to the adoption of this resolution and thus avoid its repetition."

The Commission "requests the Government of Cuba to report, within a period of 15 days, counted as of the date of this resolution, on the adoption of the required precautionary measures and update said information periodically."

On another front the Christian Liberation Movement reported on March 6, 2018 of the bureaucratic hurdles encountered by Eduardo Cardet to receive religious assistance.

Religious assistance in prison to Eduardo Cardet, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, pending bureaucratic procedures  

Religious assistance to Eduardo Cardet in prison, pending bureaucratic procedures of the Church and later, whatever the regime decides.

The family of Eduardo Cardet is still waiting to receive the form of Penitentiary Pastoral to take it to the jail where Eduardo Cardet is unjustly held, that he must fill out and deliver it to the "re-educator." 

Once this procedure is completed, the authorization for a priest to visit Eduardo would depend on what state security decides, because even though Cardet is convicted of a common crime, his case is "attended" directly by the officer of state security who detained him and beat him up. Eduardo has been in prison for a year and three months We hope that, God willing, the first phase of this religious-bureaucratic process will be streamlined as much as possible.

As for the regime, as one would expect, we continue demanding his immediate release.

 

Christian Liberation Movement reports on Spanish initiative for the release of Cuban prisoner of conscience

Freedom Now for Eduardo Cardet!

 
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain asked the government of Cuba for freedom from Eduardo Cardet

In today's appearance [February 7, 2018] in the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Congress of Deputies, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Alfonso Dastiz responded to the deputies José Ramón García-Hernández (PP) and Fernando Maura (Ciudadanos) that he had raised with his Cuban counterpart that a solution be found for the case of Eduardo Cardet.

Source: http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2018/02/07/ministro-relaciones-exteriores-de-espana-pidio-al-gobierno-de-cuba-libertad-de-eduardo-cardet/

On February 6, 2018 Carlos Payá Sardiñas of the Christian Liberation Movement tweeted "
A moment ago, Eduardo Cardet was able to talk to his wife, Yaimaris Vecino. The situation remains the same. But as she tells me, at least they have not attacked him again."

Hace un momento Eduardo Cardet pudo hablar con su esposa Yaimaris Vecino. La situación se mantiene igual. Pero como me comenta ella, al menos no le han vuelto a agredir

— Carlos Payá Sardiñas (@CarlosPayaMCL) February 6, 2018

MCL leader and prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet

Note from the Popular Party: García-Hernández: "We demand the immediate release of the political prisoner in Cuba, Eduardo Cardet"

January 31, 2018.- On November 30, 2016, the national coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) of Cuba, and vice president of the Christian Democratic Organization of America (ODCA), Eduardo Cardet, was arbitrarily detained and allegedly subjected to harassment, physical and moral intimidation to him and his family, being later imprisoned. Since then, Eduardo Cardet has continued to be imprisoned arbitrarily and under terrible conditions in Cuba.

The executive secretary of International Relations of the Popular Party, José Ramón García-Hernández, coinciding with a meeting held today at the national headquarters with representatives of the Cuban dissident movement, demanded "the immediate release of Eduardo Cardet, a political prisoner in Cuba and leader of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), arbitrarily imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression ".

Cardet was sentenced to prison and the Provincial Court of Holguín ratified the sentence of three years of deprivation of liberty. In addition, the opponent suffers a respiratory infection from his imprisonment, caused by his chronic asthmatic condition, and does not receive the appropriate medication.

A few weeks ago, the non-governmental organization Amnesty International (AI) launched an "urgent action" for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Eduardo Cardet, recalling that he was attacked on 19 December by three prisoners. Cardet's sister had filed a complaint about the assault with the Prosecutor's Office of Havana but has not yet received any response. The NGO also demands that he is provided with medical assistance and that he not be a victim of torture or ill-treatment. Garcia-Hernandez has referred to it: "We share this criterion and firm commitment to a democratic transition in Cuba, demanding a real necessary democracy and the rule of law on the island."

The executive secretary of International Relations has pointed out that "a democracy must be based on respect for the political opposition and not on arbitrarily exercising power against its representatives," and stressed that "the Popular Party maintains its permanent commitment to a future transition towards a pluralist democracy in Cuba supported by moderation, consensus, dialogue and reconciliation; supporting the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and its initiative: One Cuban One Vote, an initiative that calls for changes in the electoral law to hold free and plural elections in Cuba. "

The Christian Liberation Movement of Cuba (MCL) is a political group founded in 1988 by Oswaldo Payá, a member of the International Democratic Center (IDC) along with the Popular Party, and the Christian Democratic Organization of America (ODCA).

 Source: http://www.oswaldopaya.org/es/2018/01/31/nota-del-partido-popular-garcia-hernandez-exigimos-la-inmediata-liberacion-del-preso-politico-en-cuba-eduardo-cardet/

Cuban opposition leader returned to cell where he was beaten by several inmates.

Update on Christian Liberation Movement leader Eduardo Cardet Concepción who is jailed in Cuba.

Cuban prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet Concepción

Ominous news out of Cuba. Christian Liberation Movement leader Eduardo Cardet Concepción unjustly imprisoned since November 30, 2016, subjected to beatings by secret police, and prisoners, denied family visits, and phone calls is being sent back to the dungeon where he was beaten up just days ago. Below is today's update, by Yaimaris Vecino (Eduardo's wife), made public by the Christian Liberation Movement.

Update 12/30 Yaimaris Vecino reports that Eduardo Cardet has been transferred back to detachment 23 of the "Cuba Si" prison (where he was initially beaten). And he confirms that it is true that he was beaten by several inmates, denying a version [manufactured] by the tyranny that he was beaten by a demented prisoner.

Yaimaris Vecino, Eduardo Cardet and their two sons

Amnesty International issues urgent action for Cuban prisoner of conscience Eduardo Cardet

Today, January 31, 2017 Amnesty International issued an urgent action for Eduardo Cardet. This blog has been following his plight since last November and welcome the news that Eduardo's case is receiving greater international attention and scrutiny by a well respected international human rights organization.

URGENT ACTION

demand release of human rights defender

Five days after Fidel Castro’s death, human rights defender Eduardo Cardet was detained and has since been held in provisional detention in Holguín, south-east Cuba. He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Dr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación, MCL) since 2014 was arrested in Holguín on 30 November 2016, five days after the death of the former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro. Eduardo Cardet has spent two months in the provisional prison (prisión provisional) of Holguín. He has been refused bail on three occasions, according to his wife. 

According to five witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International by telephone on the condition of anonymity, Eduardo Cardet was pushed off his bicycle and violently detained in the early evening of 30 November by at least four plain clothed and one uniformed police officer as he returned home after visiting his mother. It is not clear on what grounds Eduardo Cardet was initially detained. According to his wife, who witnessed her husband’s detention with their two children, Eduardo Cardet is charged with attacking an official of the state (atentado). This offence is covered under Article 142.1 of the Criminal Code. One officer is alleging that Eduardo Cardet pushed him during his arrest. 

All witnesses who spoke with Amnesty International counter this allegation, and state that Eduardo Cardet was quickly and violently restrained by plain clothed officials, placed in handcuffs, and beaten, and had no opportunity for self-defence. The witnesses believe that Eduardo Cardet was arrested for his beliefs and ideas.

Yaimaris Vecino, Cardet's wife:"They badly beat up Eduardo in prison while he was handcuffed."

Prior to his arrest, Eduardo Cardet had given interviews published in international media in which he had been critical of the Cuban government. In an interview with Madrid-based radio station esRadio, aired two days before his arrest, he described the mourning in Cuba following the death of Fidel Castro as imposed, and said: “Castro was a very controversial man, very much hated and rejected by our people”. According to the MCL’s website, Eduardo Cardet’s lawyer informed the family on 27 January that the Public Prosecutor is seeking three years of prison.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

•  Calling on the authorities to release Dr. Eduardo Cardet immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;
•  Calling on them to guarantee the peaceful right to freedom of expression, assembly and association including for dissident, opponent or activist voices and to repeal all legislation which unduly limits these rights;
•  Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is provided with any medical care he may require; that he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated; and that he is granted regular access to family and lawyers of his choosing.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 MARCH 2017 TO:

President of the Republic

Raúl Castro Ruz    

Presidente de la República de Cuba

La Habana, Cuba  

Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba Office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)

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

Salutation: Your Excellency

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       

Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Señor Fiscal 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.

Jailed pro-democracy leader Eduardo Cardet of the Christian Liberation Movement

URGENT ACTION

demand release of human rights defender 

Additional Information

The Christian Liberation Movement (Movimento Cristiano Liberación, MCL) is a prominent actor in the pro-democracy movement in Cuba. According to its website, it is a movement for peaceful and democratic change and respect for human dignity. It was founded in 1988 by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, who became a visible figure of the Cuban political opposition, and four other activists. 

In March 2016, according to news reports, the MCL presented 10,000 signatures to the Cuban parliament in support of Project Varela – a long-standing proposal which advocates constitutional reform within Cuba and promotes freedom of association and speech, free elections, freedom of religion, and amnesty for political prisoners, among other things. According to Article 88 of the Cuban Constitution, laws can be proposed by citizens if a proposal is made by at least 10,000 citizens who are eligible to vote. In July, the MCL submitted a proposal to the Cuban parliament entitled “One Cuban, One Vote” (Un cubano, un voto) which makes a series of recommendations for reforms to the electoral law. 

Amnesty International has documented harassment and intimidation of members of the MCL for decades. In 1991, after Osvaldo Payá Sardiñas presented a petition calling for a national referendum relating to constitutional reform, he had his home destroyed by over 200 people, said to be members of a Rapid Response Brigade. After Osvaldo Payá announced his intention to put himself forward as a candidate for deputy to the National Assembly for the municipality of Cerro, Havana, members of his organization were reportedly subjected to frequent questioning and short-term detention.

Osvaldo Payá died in a car crash in 2012. In October 2012, Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez was arrested along with her husband Reinaldo Escobar and a third person who was with them in the south-eastern Cuban town of Bayamo. Yoani Sánchez was due to cover the opening of the trial of Spanish politician Ángel Francisco Carromero Barrios who was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the car accident that resulted in the death of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero Escalante. [ It wasn't a car accident but a state security engineered extrajudicial execution and Carromero was the victim of a show trial to cover-up the government orchestrated murder.]

Provisions of the Cuban Criminal Code, such as contempt of a public official (desacato), resistance to public officials carrying out their duties (resistencia) and public disorder (desórdenes públicos) are frequently used to stifle free speech, assembly and association in Cuba.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a Cuban-based human rights NGO not recognized by the state, documented a monthly average of 827 politically motivated detentions in 2016. In an interview published on 16 September 2016 by ABC International, Eduardo Cardet stated: “Political activities are passed off as criminal offences such as inciting public scandal, contempt of or offences against the authorities, and the political police use these classifications to lock up dissidents" (Se disfraza la actividad política con hechos delictivos comunes, por ejemplo, escándalo público, desacato, atentado, figuras que utiliza la policía política para encarcelar a los disidentes).

Cuba is closed to Amnesty International and nearly all independent international human rights monitors.

Name: Dr Eduardo Cardet Concepción

Gender m/f: male

UA: 32/17 Index: AMR 25/5601/2017 Issue Date: 31 January 2017