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

Amnesty International Urgent Action Cuba: Urban artist at risk in Cuba

 Artist threatened with being imprisoned again

Yulier Rodriguez Perez with shirt that reads in Spanish "Respect for Urban Art"

Urban artist at risk in Cuba:Yulier Rodriguez Perez

After being arbitrarily detained on 17 August, Yulier Perez, a graffiti artist known for painting dilapidated walls in Havana, is at risk of being imprisoned again, after months of intimidation and harassment from authorities.

State officials arbitrarily detained Yulier Rodriguez Perez, or Yulier P., known for his art work on the ruined walls of Havana, the capital, on 17 August in Central Havana. He told Amnesty International that he was released on the evening of 18 August on the condition that he remove all his artwork from the walls of Havana by 25 August.

Amnesty International has followed the case of Yulier Perez since early 2017, when he told the organization he had been forced out of his art studio. His international profile has increasingly grown. In 2016, he told newspaper 14 y medio, “My pictures are like fables, a portrait of people’s experiences…They are like souls, because at some point we stop being people and now we are souls in a purgatory called Cuba.” In April 2017, police summoned and questioned him about his interviews with the international press and his opinions about his art. Yulier Perez said that state security officials threatened to charge him with “dangerousness” (peligrosidad), or a range of other provisions of the Penal Code. In July, Yulier Perez travelled to the USA to participate in an art exhibition. On his return, police summoned him again. Subsequently, he hand-delivered letters to the Minister of Culture and Minister of External Relations, asking for their intervention in the frequent police harassment.

Decree No. 272 (20 February 2001) establishes administrative penalties for infringements on public adornments and monuments, and establishes that any alteration of walls or external parts of buildings is a fineable offence. Such an offence is not contemplated in the Penal Code. Yulier Perez is at risk of being criminally charged with “dangerousness” solely for the exercise of his right to freedom of expression. Cuban authorities have frequently used this vague and overly broad provision against human rights defenders and any others who appear to contradict the “norms of socialist morals”.

Provisions foreseeing the punishment of individuals not because of their actions or attitudes, but because of the likelihood of potential, future and uncertain actions breach the principle of legality.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language: Urging the Cuban authorities to ensure that law enforcement officials do not arbitrarily detain Yulier Rodriguez Perez as an attempt to restrict the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression; Calling on them to make sure that free artistic expression is adequately protected, and to repeal all legislation which unduly limits the right to freedom of expression; Calling on them to amend provisions of the Penal Code, such as the provision on “peligrosidad”, that are so vague that they lend themselves to abuse by state officials to restrict freedom of expression.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 OCTOBER 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_onu@cubanmission.com (via Cuban mission to UN)
Twitter: @RaulCastroR
Salutation: Your Excellency

Attorney General Dr. Dario Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
Amistad 552, e/ Monte y Estrella Centro
Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Email: relaciones@fgr.cu
Twitter: @FGR_Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Estimado Fiscal General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

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

Additional Information

Amnesty International has documented harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests of artists in Cuba for decades. In the late 1980s, members of artistic organizations were detained in their homes and charged with “illegal association”.

Cuban authorities have previously arbitrarily detained graffiti artists for exercising their right to freedom of expression. In 2015, Danilo Maldonado Machado (also known as ‘El Sexto’) spent almost 10 months in prison without trial following accusations of “aggravated contempt” after being arrested on 25 December 2014 for transporting two pigs with the names “Raúl” and “Fidel” painted on them, which he intended to release in an art show in Havana’s Central Park. He was never formally charged nor brought before a court during the almost 10 months he spent in detention. Danilo Maldonado Machado was again arrested at his home in Havana the morning of 26 November 2016, hours after the announcement of Fidel Castro’s death. That same day, Cuba-based newspaper 14 y medio reported that he had graffitied the words “He’s gone” (Se fue) on a wall in Havana. He was detained for almost two months, according to his family, without formal charges.

Article 75.1 of the Penal Code provides that any police officer can issue a warning (acta de advertencia) for “dangerousness”. A warning can also be issued for associating with a “dangerous person.” Municipal tribunals have the authority to declare someone to be in a dangerous pre-criminal state. They can do so summarily within pre-set timeframes which are so short – less than 11 days from charge to sentence – that they effectively “deprive the accused of the possibility of mounting an adequate legal defence”.

Security measures are imposed on those found to have a “dangerous disposition” by a municipal tribunal. These measures may include therapy, police surveillance or “re-education”. The latter may consist of internment in a specialized work or study establishment for a period of between one and four years. In most cases, internment is changed to imprisonment, even though in the Penal Code “dangerousness” is not punishable by imprisonment.

Name: Yulier Rodriguez Perez

Gender m/f: male

UA: 189/17 Index: AMR 25/7000/2017 Issue Date: 24 August 2017

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

Amnesty International issues urgent action for Cuban prisoner of conscience Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez

UA: 77/15 Index: AMR 25/1379/2015 Cuba

Date: 2 April 2015

URGENT ACTION
POLITICAL DISSIDENT MUST BE RELEASED

Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez has been detained in Cuba since June 2014. He was sentenced in December 2014 to one year’s imprisonment for “public disorder”. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

On 5 June 2014, Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez, a political dissident and activist who is a member of various independent organizations in Cuba, organized and participated in a demonstration in the streets of Placetas, Santa Clara Province, in central Cuba. He displayed a banner which stated “Student Revolutionary Directorate”(Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil , DRE)and shouted slogans against the government such as “Down with the revolution!”(Abajo la Revolución); “Down with Fidel, down with Raúl Castro!”(Abajo Fidel, abajo Raúl). Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez was arrested and subsequently released on the same day, however on 12 June 2014, the District Attorney of Villa Clara placed him under house arrest on accusations of “public disorder.”

On 15 June, in order to visit his father on Father’s Day, Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez called the local police station to request temporary permission to leave his house. Although the officer in charge gave him verbal authorization, Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez was arrested by a police patrol while on his way to his father’s house.

In September 2014, the Attorney General’s office charged him with “public disorder”,(desorden público) “public disorder of a continuous nature”,(desordenes publicos de carácter continuado) and “disrespect” (desacato), and demanded he be given four years’ imprisonment. Ciro Alexis Peréz Casanova was tried in November 2014 at the Popular Municipal Court of Placetas which convicted and sentenced him on 30 December to one year’s imprisonment. The Court rejected the accusations of “disrespect“ and of “public disorder of a continuous nature“, and only found Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez guilty of “public disorder“. He has been serving his sentence at El Pendiente prison until he was moved to Manaca prison in February 2015. Both are situated in Villa Clara province. Amnesty International considers this sentence to be politically motivated, relating to his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and that it is intended to send a message of intimidation to other government critics.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

- Calling on the authorities to release Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez 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 repeal all legislation which unduly limits freedom of expression, assembly and association;
- Urging them to ensure that, pending his release, he is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated; that he is granted regular access to family and lawyers of his choosing; and provided with any medical care which he may require.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 MAY 2015

TO:
President of the Republic
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: 011 41 22 758 9431 
 (Cuba office in Geneva);
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

And copies to:

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

Also send copies to:
Cuba does not presently have an embassy in the United States.
Instead, please send copies to:
Embassy of Switzerland, Cuban Interests Section
2630 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: (202) 797 8521
I Fax: (202) 797 0606
Email: recepcion@sicuw.org

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to uan@aiusa.org with "UA 77/15" in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent, OR fill out this short online form (press Ctrl + click on link) to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The right to a fair trial in Cuba is affected, especially in trials with political connotations, as courts and prosecutors are under government control. Cuba’s National Assembly elects the President, Vice-President and the other judges of the Peoples’ Supreme Court, as well as the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. In addition, all courts are subordinate to the National Assembly and the Council of State, raising concerns over internationally recognized standards for fair trial and the right to trial by an independent and impartial tribunal.

The Cuban Criminal Code criminalizes a broad range of activities under the provisions dealing with public order (Title IV). Some Title IV provisions are worded and interpreted by the courts in ways that allow the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression. The Criminal Code gives a very broad interpretation of public order, allowing the authorities to invoke this provision to arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression in both public and private spaces. Article 200 states: “Any person who, without justifiable cause raises the alarm or makes threats against the general public in public places or at shows or large meetings, shall be subject to between three months and a year’s imprisonment or a fine... or both (El que, en lugares públicos, espectáculos o reuniones numerosas, dé gritos de alarma, profiera amenazas de un peligro común o realice cualquier otro acto con el propósito de provocar pánico o tumulto, incurre en sanción de privación de libertad de tres meses a un año o multa de cien a trescientas cuotas o ambas).

Public disorder charges are commonly used to punish the exercise of freedom of expression and criticism of the authorities. Under international human rights law, governments must justify measures that limit the right to freedom of expression.

In December 2014 the United States of America and Cuba announced the decision to “normalize” their diplomatic relations and since then, representatives of both governments have held a number a bilateral negotiations in Cuba and the USA. On 31 March 2015 delegations met in Washington DC, “ to discuss the methodology, topics, and structure of a future human rights dialogue” according to the US Department of State. It follows the release in January 2015 of more than 50 political prisoners in Cuba including five men considered by Amnesty International to be prisoners of conscience.

Name: Ciro Alexis Casanova Pérez(m)
Issues: Prisoner of conscience. Freedom of expression, Unjust imprisonment
UA:77/15

Issue Date:2 April 2015
Country:Cuba

Text taken from:  http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa07715.pdf

Amnesty International Urgent Action - Cuban Journalist threatened and attacked: Roberto de Jesús Guerra

Document - Cuba: Journalist threatened and attacked: Roberto de Jesús Guerra

 

Amnesty issues Urgent Action for Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez,

UA: 159/14 Index: AMR 25/001/2014 Cuba Date: 20 June 2014

 

URGENT ACTION

journalist threatened and attacked

 

Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez, director of the independent news agency Hablemos Press has been receiving threatening telephone calls and was assaulted on the streets of Havana, the capital. He believes these are attempts by the Cuban authorities to dissuade him from continuing his activities as a journalist.

 

Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez, founder and director of the independent news agency Hablemos Press (Let’s Talk Press) has been repeatedly receiving threatening telephone calls since 6 June. Different male voices have called his mobile phone and the landline at his home, which also doubles as the office of Hablemos Press, and have threatened that Roberto will be killed.

Just after 11am on 11 June Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez was walking in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución in central Havana on his way to use internet facilities at the Czech Embassy. He was attacked without warning by an unknown individual who started to punch and kick him, leaving him with a broken nose and bruises all over his body. As he was being beaten four men on two motorcycles which are typically used by the Cuban Department of State Security pulled up beside him. Roberto stated that one of the men said “ok, that’s enough” (ya, ya, no le des más) before they drove off. Roberto recognized one of the four men as someone who had participated in repressing demonstrations by dissidents. Roberto and his wife filed a complaint against the attack at the police station in the Cerro municipality of Havana. Roberto was called back to the police station later that night where he identified his attacker from photographs he was shown.

At around 6pm on 17 June the same man who attacked Roberto shouted threats outside his house, including that he would kill Roberto and set fire to his house. Roberto’s wife returned to the same police station to file another complaint but they refused to take it and told her that they had no grounds for complaint (“la denuncia no procedía”).

 

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the Cuban authorities to immediately investigate the assault on 11 June against Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez as well as telephone threats against him and to bring those found responsible to justice;
Calling on the authorities to ensure that citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association are able to so without harassment or intimidation

 

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 1 AUGUST 2014 TO:

Head of State and Government

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

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

 

And copies to:

Interior Minister

General Abelardo Colomé 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

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

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

 

URGENT ACTION

journalist threatened and attacked

Additional Information

Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez has faced constant harassment from the authorities. He has been arrested on several occasions and threatened with prison sentences if he continues his activities as a journalist. On 6 April 2014 Roberto de Jesús Guerra was detained for six hours by police after he arrived at Havana airport following a trip abroad. Material he was carrying was confiscated, including documents from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington where he had attended an audience on 25 March in relation to freedom of expression in Cuba. On 11 September 2012 Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez was forced into a car and reportedly beaten as he was driven to a police station. Before being released, he was told that he had become the “number one dissident journalist” and would be imprisoned if he continued his activities.

The news agency Hablemos Press (Let’s Talk Press) is an unofficial Cuban news agency founded in February 2009 by independent journalists and human rights activists, “for the purpose of gathering and disseminating news within the country and for the rest of the world” according to their website. Hablemos Press also produces monthly reports on the arbitrary detention of independent journalists, human rights defenders and political activists.

Restrictions on the Cuban media are stringent and pervasive and clearly stop those in the country from enjoying their right to freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The state maintains a total monopoly on television, radio, the press, internet service providers, and other electronic means of communication.

Article 53 of the Cuban Constitution recognizes freedom of the press but expressly prohibits private ownership of the mass media: “Citizens have freedom of speech and of the press in keeping with the objectives of socialist society. Material conditions for the exercise of that right are provided by the fact that the press, radio, television, cinema, and other mass media are state or social property and can never be private property. This assures their use at exclusive service of the working people and in the interests of society. The law regulates the exercise of those freedoms”.

Although there is no censorship law that explicitly regulates the functioning of the press or establishes what is published, journalists must join the Cuban Journalists Association (Unión de Periodistas Cubanos, UPEC) in order to practice journalism in the state-owned media. UPEC is self-governing; however, in its statutes it recognizes the Cuban Communist Party as “the highest leading force of society and of the state” and agrees to abide by Article 53 of the Constitution (see above). Compulsory membership of a professional association for the practice of journalism is an unlawful restriction on freedom of expression and a violation of the right to freedom of association. Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that, “no one may be compelled to belong to an association”. In the particular case of UPEC, whose members are employees of the government of Cuba, compulsory membership is a means of exerting political control in the field of communications. Only journalists expressing views in line with official government policies are accredited by UPEC; independent journalists are barred from joining.

Name: Roberto de Jesús Guerra
Gender m/f: m

UA: 159/14 Index: AMR 25/001/2014 Issue Date: 20 June 2014

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/001/2014/en/365f332d-b96b-42c7-9d4a-8ba1f490ea19/amr250012014en.html

Amnesty International calls for urgent action to end torture of protesters

Document - Further information: Venezuela: More protesters detained, at risk of torture

Further information on UA: 119/14 Index: AMR 53/014/2014 Venezuela Date: 15 May 2014

URGENT ACTION

MORE protesters detained, AT risk of TORTURE

 

On 14 May security forces in Caracas detained at least 100 people involved in ongoing anti-government demonstrations. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment and their right to due process is at risk.

According to reports, on 14 May, at least 100 people including some minors, were detained by Venezuelan National Guard in Chacao municipality, east of the capital Caracas, with excessive use of force. Some of them have been released after few hours, including all the minors. They were detained while taking part in a student demonstration organised to protest against the detention of 243 people between 7 and 8 May. Student demonstration was held in front of the UNDP’s office.

National Guards attacked media workers who were covering the protest. According to press reports, four photographers were beaten and three journalist assaulted, some of them present injuries by rubber pellets. The Ministry of Tourism, adjacent to the UNDP’s offices was reportedly attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails during the demonstration. A member of the National Guard was injured when he was accidently hit by one of the buses that was carrying some of the detainees into custody.

In the context of the ongoing protests in Venezuela, Amnesty International has received dozens of complaints about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees by members of the security forces, at the time of detention, during transfer and at detention centres. The detainees’ safety and right to due process are at grave risk.

 

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Acknowledging that the state has a duty to act, in a lawful and proportionate manner, to maintain public order; and reminding the authorities that they must respect human rights, must not use excessive force, and must ensure that the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly are respected;

Calling on the authorities to make public the whereabouts of all detainees, and ensure they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, are given immediate access to their lawyers, families, and any medical attention they may require;

Calling on them to either charge those detained with a recognisable offence or release them; to respect the right of all those charged with an offence to due process and urging the authorities to refrain from making statements that undermine the presumption of innocence;

Calling on them to guarantee the protection of journalists and human right defenders and ensure that they can carry out their work without fear of reprisals, given their essential role in monitoring and reporting on the protests and possible abuses.

 

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 26 JUNE 2014 TO:

Vice-president

Sr. Jorge Arreaza

Vicepresidencia de la Republica

Av. Urdaneta, Esquina de Carmelitas, Caracas, Venezuela

Twitter: @jaarreaza

Salutation: Señor Vicepresidente/

Dear Vice-president 

 

Minister of Justice and Interior

Gral. Miguel Rodríguez Torres

Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz

Av. Urdaneta, Edificio Interior y Justicia Caracas, Venezuela

Fax: +58 212 506 1685

Email: asistenciadirecta3@gmail.com

Salutation: Señor Ministro/

Dear Minister 

 

And copies to:

Amnistía Internacional Venezuela Av la Salle, Torre Phelps, piso 17, Oficina 17A

Plaza Venezuela Los Caobos, Caracas 1050 Venezuela

Fax: +58 212 793 1318 ext. 116

Email: info@aiven.org

 

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.

URGENT ACTION

MORE protesters detained, AT risk of TORTURE

Additional Information

Between 7 and 8 May security forces in the Chacao and Baruta Municipalities of Caracas, the capital, detained 243 people in four makeshift camps built as part of anti-government demonstrations that have been ongoing throughout the country since February 2014. All but 12 people have already been conditionally released, including all the minors.

Since the beginning of February 2014, Venezuela has been shaken by mass protests for and against the government in various parts of the country. The unrest has already resulted in the death of over 41 people, including at least six members of the security forces. More than 650 people have been injured and over 2,000 have been detained. Most people arrested have been conditionally released pending investigations, but they face charges that could lead to years in prison.

There are indications of excessive use of force by the security forces, as well as reports of violence by armed pro government groups and by anti-government protesters. Amnesty International has received dozens of complaints about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees by members of the security forces, at the time of detention, during transfer and at detention centres. The aim of the cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees appears to have been to punish them for their participation, or alleged participation in the protests. Among the complaints received are cases of beatings by members of the security forces, who allegedly punched, kicked and hit detainees with blunt objects, such as helmets, including when detainees were being restrained on the ground at the time of detention.

The organization has also received complaints from detainees who were allegedly forced to kneel or stand for long periods at detention centres, subjected to sexual abuse or threatened with rape. Other reports indicate that some were threatened with death, and in one case, officer’s allegedly poured petrol onto a young detainee.

Detainees were not given medical examinations on arrival at detention centres and, in some cases, did not receive medical attention until they were brought before a judge, despite evident wounds from rubber pellets or bullets. The right of detainees to be examined by a doctor and receive medical treatment whenever necessary is a safeguard against torture and ill-treatment, and an integral part of the authorities’ duty to guarantee respect for the integrity and dignity of the individual.

Name: Another 105 people detained in Caracas
Gender m/f: both

Further information on UA: 119/14 Index: AMR 53/014/2014 Issue Date: 15 May 2014

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR53/014/2014/en/fb437830-9444-4700-9ce4-53329b94cf20/amr530142014en.html

Amnesty International: Venezuela: Protesters detained, at risk of ill-treatment

Urgent Action from Amnesty International

Carlin Rodriguez, age 19 shot in the jaw by police during nonviolent protest

Document - Venezuela: Protesters detained, at risk of ill-treatment

UA: 119/14 Index: AMR 53/013/2014 Venezuela Date: 9 May 2014

URGENT ACTION

protesters detained, at risk of ill-treatment

Security forces in Caracas detained 243 people involved in ongoing anti-government demonstrations between 7 and 8 May. The whereabouts of those who have not yet been released remain unknown. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Between 7 and 8 May security forces in the Chacao and Baruta Municipalities of Caracas, the capital, detained 243 people in four makeshift camps built as part of anti-government demonstrations that have been ongoing throughout the country since February 2014. Some of these 243 people have already been released, including some minors.

The relatives of those detained have expressed concern at the reports of excessive use of force by security forces in their operation to dismantle the four makeshift camps built by protesters. The relatives have also stated they have been unable to establish the exact whereabouts of their family members following the detention.

In the context of the ongoing protests in Venezuela, Amnesty International has received dozens of complaints about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees by members of the security forces, at the time of detention, during transfer and at detention centres. The detainees’ safety and right to due process are at grave risk.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to make public the whereabouts of all detainees, and ensure they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, are given immediate access to their lawyers, families, and any medical attention they may require;

Calling on them to either charge those detained with a recognisable offence or release them; to respect the right of all those charged with an offence to due process and urging the authorities to refrain from making statements that undermine the presumption of innocence;
Acknowledging that the state has a duty to maintain public order, and reminding the authorities that they must respect human rights, must not use excessive force, and must ensure that the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly are respected.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 JUNE 2014 TO:

Minister of Justice and Interior

Gral. Miguel Rodríguez Torres

Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz

Av. Urdaneta, Edificio Interior y Justicia Caracas, Venezuela

Fax: +58 212 506 1685

Email: asistenciadirecta3@gmail.com

Salutation: Señor Ministro/

Dear Minister

Attorney General of the Republic

Dra. Luisa Ortega Díaz

Edificio Sede Principal del Ministerio Público, Esquinas de Misericordia a Pele El Ojo Avenida México

Caracas, Venezuela

Email: ministeriopublico@mp.gob.ve

Fax: +58 212 578 3239

 Salutation: Dra. Fiscal / Dear Prosecutor

And copies to:

Amnistía Internacional Venezuela Av la Salle, Torre Phelps, piso 17, Oficina 17A

Plaza Venezuela, Los Caobos, Caracas 1050 Venezuela

Fax: +58 212 793 1318 ext. 116

Email: info@aiven.org

URGENT ACTION

protesters detained, at risk of ill-treatment

ADditional Information

Since the beginning of February 2014, Venezuela has been shaken by mass protests for and against the government in various parts of the country. The unrest has already resulted in the death of over 41 people, including at least six members of the security forces. More than 650 people have been injured and over 2,000 have been detained. Most people arrested have been conditionally released pending investigations but they face charges that could lead to years in prison.

There are indications of excessive use of force by the security forces, as well as reports of violence by armed pro government groups and by anti-government protesters. Amnesty International has received dozens of complaints about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees by members of the security forces, at the time of detention, during transfer and at detention centres. The aim of the cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees appears to have been to punish them for their participation, or alleged participation in the protests. Among the complaints received are cases of beatings by members of the security forces, who allegedly punched, kicked and hit detainees with blunt objects, such as helmets, including when detainees were being restrained on the ground at the time of detention.

The organization has also received complaints from detainees who were allegedly forced to kneel or stand for long periods at detention centres, subjected to sexual abuse or threatened with rape. Other reports indicate that some were threatened with death, and in one case, officer’s allegedly poured petrol onto a young detainee.

Detainees were not given medical examinations on arrival at detention centres and, in some cases, did not receive medical attention until they were brought before a judge, despite evident wounds from rubber pellets or bullets. The right of detainees to be examined by a doctor and receive medical treatment whenever necessary is a safeguard against torture and ill-treatment, and an integral part of the authorities’ duty to guarantee respect for the integrity and dignity of the individual.

Name: 243 people detained in Caracas
Gender m/f: both

UA: 119/14 Index: AMR 53/013/2014 Issue Date: 9 May 2014

Taken from this link

Amnesty International issues Urgent Action for Ladies in White Detained and Missing in Cuba

UA: 276/12 Index: AMR 25/022/2012 Cuba

Date: 25 September 2012

URGENT ACTION
DOZENS OF CUBAN OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS DETAINED

Members of the Ladies in White have been detained in Havana and several other places in Cuba. Some remain in detention and the authorities have failed to provide reasons for their detention or information on their whereabouts.

From 21 to 24 September the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) held several activities, including masses and marches in Havana, to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy (Virgin de la Merced) and in memory of former political activists. Since 20 September, various members of the Ladies in White have received intimidating notes aimed at preventing them from taking part in activities. Reports from the group state that the headquarters in Neptuno Street, Havana have been surrounded by police officers.

Around 50 members of the group, who travelled from different provinces of Cuba to attend the activities, were arrested on their way to Havana. The majority of them were released and deported back to their provinces, however 19 remain detained and their whereabouts are unknown. On 24 September as the Ladies in White planned to attend mass, an act of repudiation (acto de repudio see background information) took place at their headquarters. Government supporters and state agents gathered in the street chanting pro-government slogans and intimidating the women. In the early morning of 25 September 18 members of the Ladies in White were arrested at the headquarters.

Amnesty International believes that the repeated use of short term detentions of members of the Ladies in White and other activists in Cuba is a tactic used to silence dissident voices in the country and prevent peaceful activities.

Furthermore the systematic arrest of activists travelling from the provinces to Havana represents an excessive limitation to freedom of movement and represents excessive control and harassments of dissidents.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to reveal immediately the identity and whereabouts of all members of the Ladies in White arrested between 21-25 September;
• Urging them to immediately release the detained members, unless there is sufficient evidence to charge them with an internationally recognizable criminal offence;
• Urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of members of the Ladies in White and all other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association, and immediately stop arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement of Cubans inside Cuba.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Acts of repudiation (actos de repudio) are government coordinated demonstrations, usually carried out in front of the homes of political opponents, attended by government supporters, state officials and law enforcement agencies aimed at harassing and intimidating opponents and are often used to prevent them from travelling to participate in activities. During an act of repudiation, political opponents and human rights activists are subjected to verbal and physical abuse by groups of people
chanting pro-government slogans. Police are usually present but fail to intervene to stop the assaults. Such incidents frequently involve the Rapid Response Brigades (Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida), a structure set up in 1991 and composed of Communist Party volunteers whose task is to deal with any sign of ‘counter-revolution’.

Local human rights activists and others believe these incidents are orchestrated by Cuba's security services to intimidate any opposition.

The Ladies in White was formed by a group of female relatives of the 75 prisoners of conscience who were imprisoned in March 2003 for their peaceful expression of critical opinions of the government. The group would attend mass every Sunday in the capital, Havana, dressed in white, to pray for the release of their relatives. Afterwards they would take part in a procession from the church to a nearby park, carrying white flowers.

A solidarity group called the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo) subsequently emerged to support and participate in activities organized by the Ladies in White. In early 2012 the two groups merged and all members are now considered to be Ladies in White. After the release of all the prisoners of conscience from the March 2003 crackdown, the Ladies in White have been campaigning for the release of political prisoners and for the lifting of restrictions on fundamental civil and political freedoms in Cuba.

The Ladies in White have repeatedly suffered harassment and intimidation as they have attempted to carry out their peaceful activities. They are frequently subject to acts of repudiation by government supporters and members of the security forces, and also to short-term arbitrary detentions in order to disrupt their activities.

Name: Members of The Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) and other opposition activists in Cuba
Gender m/f: both
UA: 276/12 Index: AMR 25/022/2012 Issue Date: 25 September 2012

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 NOVEMBER 2012 TO:

President
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: +537 85 56 621; +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
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/022/2012/en

Amnesty issues urgent action for Cuban dissident detained now 12 days

Further information on UA: 99/12 Index: AMR 25/015/2012

Cuba

Date: 13 April 2012

URGENT ACTION:
CUBAN PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE STILL HELD

José Daniel Ferrer García pictured above with his wife Belkis Cantillo Ramírez and his daughter

Cuban government critic José Daniel Ferrer García has been detained without charge for more than 10 days. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. 42 others arrested at the same time have now been released.

José Daniel Ferrer García, the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Union Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU) has been detained without charge since 2 April when he was arrested by security forces along with 42 others as part of a crackdown on government critics in the province of Santiago de Cuba. The others detained – who included his wife Belkis Cantillo Ramírez, a member of the protest group Ladies in White – were all released without a charge a few days after their arrest.

José Daniel Ferrer García is being held at the provincial headquarters of the Department of State Security (Departamento de Seguridad del Estado) in the neighbourhood of Versalles, on the outskirts of the city of Santiago de Cuba. He has yet to be charged and has not had access to a lawyer.

José Daniel Ferrer García was previously declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, along with 74 others who were imprisoned in 2003 solely for their the peaceful expression of their opinions. He 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. Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attempt to repress the peaceful dissident activities he and members of UNPACU are undertaking in eastern Cuba and the organization is once again adopting him as a prisoner of conscience.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to release José Daniel Ferrer García immediately and unconditionally, as Amnesty International believes he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;
• Urging them to cease immediately the harassment and intimidation of citizens who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 23 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: Dear Minister

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 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. This is the first update of UA 99/12. Further information:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/012/2012

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”).

José Daniel Ferrer García was recently arrested in Havana, on 21 February 2012 and held incommunicado until his release without charge three days later

(See UAs: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/005/2012/en;
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/006/2012/en.)

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 and has intensified since just before the Pope’s visit to Cuba at the end of March 2012.

On 2 April, 100 officials from the Department of State Security and police officers arrived at José Daniel’s house in Palmarito de Cauto, Santiago de Cuba Province. The officers reportedly broke in and arrested him and his wife Belkis, along with four others. 37 other government critics were also arrested at the same time in Palma de Soriano and El Caney, both in Santiago de Cuba
Province.

Name: José Daniel Ferrer García
Gender m/f: m

Further information on UA: 99/12 Index: AMR 25/015/2012 Issue Date: 13 April 2012

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/015/2012/en

Also available in Spanish and French

Amnesty International issues urgent action for Cuban arrested during Papal mass

Document - Cuba: Cuban government detains critic

UA: 100/12 Index: AMR 25/013/2012 Cuba Date: 4 April 2012

URGENT ACTION

CUBAN GOVERNMENT DETAINS CRITIC

A government critic has been detained, apparently without charge, for more than a week for peacefully expressing his right to freedom of expression .

Andrés Carrión Álvarez was arrested in the city of Santiago de Cuba on 28 March where he was attending an open air mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. Five minutes before the mass began in Antonio Maceo Square, he apparently shouted, “freedom” (libertad) and “down with communism” (abajo el comunismo).

He was removed by security personnel and was apparently arrested by officials from the Department of State Security. Local human rights organizations have been unable to confirm his whereabouts or whether he has been charged.

Amnesty International believes he may be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to reveal immediately the whereabouts of Andrés Carrión Álvarez, who was arrested on 28 March;

Urging them to release him immediately if he is detained, unless there is sufficient evidence to charge him with an internationally-recognizable criminal offence;

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

PLEASE 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

Salutation: Dear Attorney General

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

CUBAN GOVERNMENT DETAINS CRITIC

Additional Information

Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba from 28-30 March, and 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 on the part of the Cuban authorities, but instead they were subjected to further repression. Over 200 government critics were apparently detained during the Pope's 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. Since 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.

Name: Andrés Carrión Alvarez

Gender m/f: m

UA: 100/12 Index: AMR 25/013/2012 Issue Date: 4 April 2012