Uncommon Sense

Rev. Roberto Rodríguez, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 9/5/10

This post will remain at the top of the page through Friday, Sept. 10, events allowing. To read newer posts, scroll down. You can also follow Uncommon Sense on Twitter @marcmasferrer.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has the story of Rev. Roberto Rodríguez:

Reverend Roberto Rodriguez. Credit:CSW

A respected church leader in Cuba was unexpectedly arrested on Monday (Aug. 30, 2010) and taken to a town in Central Cuba where he is expected to stand trial. CSW believes the charges of “offensive behaviour” and “threats” against Reverend Roberto Rodriguez to be false. 

Those close to Reverend Rodriguez, who is in his late 60s and in poor health,  say he became a government target after the organization he led publicly withdrew from a government sanctioned religious umbrella group in the second half of 2008, and that the criminal charges against him are an attempt to discredit and silence him. His arrest was so sudden that Reverend Rodriguez was unable to take important medication with him. It is feared that without it, his health will continue to deteriorate.

According to his family, state security officials arrived at the home without warning on 30 August and forced Reverend Rodriguez to go with them. The family understands that he will be taken to the town of Placetas where he will be put on trial sometime over the next few days. Prosecutors are asking that he be given a one-year prison sentence. 

Charges were first brought against Reverend Rodriguez in late 2008 and he was given three trial dates over the course of 2009 but no trial ever took place. He and his family were forced to move after being subjected to constant verbal and physical abuse from their neighbours, apparently acting with the support of the government. He has spent the last 21 months under house arrest. 

CSW is calling on the Cuban authorities to release Reverend Rodriguez immediately and drop all charges against him. 

CSW’s National Director Stuart Windsor said, “The treatment of Reverend Rodriguez and his family over the past 21 months has been disgraceful. The European Union will be looking at the human rights situation and reviewing its Common Position on Cuba this month. While some heralded the release of some Cuban prisoners of conscience this summer as an improvement in the human rights situation, the arrest of Reverend Rodriguez this week demonstrates that the Cuban government is not interested in real human rights reform. We call on the EU to make urgent representations on behalf of Reverend Rodriguez to the Cuban government.”

Eight detained Cuban dissidents released — Yoani Sanchez (UPDATED)

Yoani Sanchez reports on Twitter that the Cuban authorities have released eight dissidents arrested last month in two different incidents.

Three of them were arrested after a protest at the University of Havana, and five others were arrested after a protest in eastern Cuba.

The releases occurred late Saturday, according to Sanchez.

All eight have recently been Political Prisoners of the Week here at Uncommon Sense.

UPDATED, 2:30 p.m. EDT — Radio Martí has the story, as well, noting that Amnesty International had launched a petition drive on the prisoners' behalf. More here.

Cuba Ladies In White take the lead in fight for freedom

Read more about them here.

Here's my video tribute to these women, produced after the demonstrations referred to near the end of the video above.

Cuban political prisoner Arnaldo Herrera released from jail

Arnaldo Herrera

Human rights activist Arnaldo Herrera Campoalegre was released from the Castro gulag Sept. 1, after serving a 1 year in prison on a supposed charge of "disrespect," according to a report from independent journalist Damián Sánchez Sáenz posted at Misceláneas de Cuba.

Herrera, vice president of a "Martiana Commission," was greeted upon his release by other activists. He vowed to resume his role in the struggle against the Cuban dictatorship.

"I'm happy to be among my brothers," Herrera said. "The 12 months I spent in prison were hard, but it served to strengthen my ideals, and nothing will deviate my plans to fight to see my country free."

Herrera was arrested last year, after signs carrying anti-government slogans appeared near his home in Havana.

Why Fidel Castro's speech on Friday mattered

The decaying dictator Fidel Castro grabbed headlines Friday for a speech that according to most headline writers mattered not for what he said, but for what he was wearing. Imagine the disgust Castro must have felt when he learned that most observers were more concerned with this style than with his substance!

Not surprisingly, those writing about Castro's speech missed the most noteworthy part about his remarks:

He made them from the famed steps at the University of Havana, where just a few weeks earlier five dissidents were arrested during a human rights demonstration. Three of the five — Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez — remain in jail, facing supposed charges of "public disorder."

The real disorder was present Friday.

The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro has ever had anything good to offer Cuba or the world.

The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro, a man who at least twice tried to convince his Soviet patrons to launch nuclear missiles at the United States, can now save the world from a holocaust.

The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro is not in charge of his dictatorship any less than before.

The real disorder is that more people, thanks to media coverage or lack thereof, will know more about what Castro was wearing Friday than about the modern Cuban heroes who risk what little freedom they enjoy to challenge the dictatorship and to demand that the rights of their fellow citizens be respected by their government.

Fidel Castro's speech on Friday mattered because it gives the world a chance to remember and honor three real Cuban heroes: Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez.

Former Cuban political prisoner Alfredo Domínguez arrives in Spain

Cuban political prisoner Alfredo Domínguez Batista arrived in Spain, after he was released from jail and expelled from the island under terms of a deal struck by Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship. He had been jailed since the "black spring" crackdown of 2003.

Read more about this courageous man, here.

Alfredo Domínguez, left, his wife Melba and Carlos Payá. (H/T for photo Oswaldo Payá.)

Alfredo Domínguez and his wife Melba Santana (Photo H/T Antonio Ballesteros)

Interviews with former Cuban political prisoners

Reporters Without Borders, one of the international groups in support of Cuban freedom, has interviewed several Cuban independent journalists released from Cuban prisons this past summer under a deal between Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship. (Learn more about the interviewees by clicking on their names on the right sidebar.)

They make me proud to be a journalist, and to be a Cuban.

Former political prisoner Próspero Gaínza Agüero kicked out of Cuba

Former Cuban political prisoner Próspero Gaínza Agüero, center, greeted Thursday in Madrid by other former political prisoners, Regis Iglesias, right, and, I believe, Ricardo Gonzalez on the right.

After more than seven years of unjust imprisonment in the Castro gulag, political prisoner Próspero Gaínza was released from prison and immediately expelled from Cuba.

He is the 27th political prisoner to be released and forced off the island, under terms of a deal negotiated by Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship — but not by any member of the Cuban opposition. (Of those released, 26 are currently in Spain, and one is in Chile.)

Twenty-five other prisoners remain in jail, including at least 10 who have refused to accept release if it means they have to leave Cuba for exile overseas.

Upon his arrival in Spain, Gaínza denounced the repression he suffered while in prison and demanded the release of all political prisoners.

Read more about Gaínza, here and here.

(Five other prisoners were reportedly going to be released along with Gaínza, but that didn't happen. One report was that there was "not enough room" on the airplane, or other such nonsense.)

6 Cuban political prisoners arrive in Spain today (UPDATED)

UPDATED, 10:20 a.m. EDT,  Sept. 2, 2010 -- From my friend Maria Benjumea in Spain: "My good friend in Madrid Antonio Ballesteros who visited the ex prisoners at the hotel last night- said that only Próspero Gainza & family are expected: 'No place on the plane for the others. " Very strange affair these trips and announcements."

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Six former Cuban political prisoners and their families were expected to arrive in Spain, fresh from their release from the Castro gulag and expulsion from the island.

The former prisoners are:

• Víctor Arroyo
• Alexis Rodríguez
• Leonel Grave de Peralta
• Alfredo Domínguez
• Próspero Gainza
• Claro Sánchez

(To learn more about each man, click on their names on the right sidebar or do a search on the top of the left sidebar.)

The men, and 26 other former prisoners who arrived in Spain earlier this summer, were released under a deal between Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship.

This story offers a bit of insight on the role of the church in these maneuverings, noting that the Cardinal Jaime Ortega is selecting when a particular prisoner will be released based on their health and willingness to accept exile in Spain. (La selección de los prisioneros corre a cargo del arzobispado de la Havana --especialmente en la máxima autoridad católica de la isla, el cardenal Jaime Ortega--, que tiene en consideración factores como la salud de los retenidos o su deseo de viajar a España.)

Officials tell Cuban political prisoner he will be released Friday

UPDATED, Sept. 4, 2010 — Julian Moné got word that he will be released.

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Cuban political prisoner Julián Antonio Moné Borrero has been told by authorities that he will be released on Friday, Sept. 3.

If Moné is released — and in Cuba, assurances from the regime are never promises you are sure will be kept — it will not be because the Spanish government or the Catholic hierarchy intervened with the dictatorship on his behalf.

Moné will be released because of his force of will, because of his courage, because of his faith that justice in his case would prevail.

Since July 1, he has been on hunger strike, demanding his release, as allowed under Cuban law after completing a certain portion of his sentence. Moné in September 2008 was arrested for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word CAMBIO, or "change," convicted of "assault," and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Despite being hospitalized because of the ill effects of his protest, Moné continued his hunger strike.

And promises from his jailers notwithstanding, he tells independent journalist Roberto Guerra his protest is not yet over. He just doesn't trust his captors' words.

"They say that on Sept. 3, I will be freed. But I'll believe it when I have the document of freedom in my hands," Moné said. "Meanwhile, I will not give in at any time. I'm still on strike."

103 Cuban dissidents arrested in August, says independent news agency

The Castro dictatorship in August arrested at least 103 Cuban dissidents, the highest monthly count since April, according to information compiled by the incomparable CIHPRESS news agency.

That brought the yearly total to 861.

The arrests in August, as well as those in the prior month, are instructive in that they occurred at the same time the dictatorship was receiving attention for releasing and expelling into exile in Spain some two dozen dissidents imprisoned since the "black spring" of 2003. Not wanting to waste any jail space, the regime moved to stock up on political prisoners.

If you pay close attention, you'll see that nothing has changed in Cuba.

Most of those arrested were released after a few hours or a few days of detention, but not before the government delivered its message: Give up your work against the revolution or you will face harsher punishment.

But the August activity includes the arrest of five activists in eastern Cuba and of three dissidents who were carrying out a protest on the steps of the University of Havana. They all remain in jail, facing charges of "public disorder," or other such nonsense.

To see the list of 103 names and any available information about what exactly happened to them, go here.

University of Havana protesters transferred to prisons (UPDATED)

Three Cuban dissidents arrested Aug. 16 during a protest on the steps of the University of Havana have been transferred to different prisons, according to a report posted at Misceláneas de Cuba.

The case of Michel Iroy Rodríguez Ruiz, Luís Enrique Labrador and Eduardo Pérez Flores — along with the recent arrests of five dissidents in eastern Cuba — is the most recent evidence that despite its release of some dozen members of the "Group of 75" prisoners, the Castro dictatorship has not changed.

Meanwhile, Rodríguez, Labrador and Pérez are increasingly in poor health because of hunger strikes they started after their arrests. They have been moved to some of the Castro gulag's worst hellholes, but so far no formal charges have been filed against them.

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Before his transfer, Luís Enrique Labrador was beaten and seriously injured by police, according to a report from independent journalist Katia Sonia Martín Véliz, published by the Cuban Independence and Democracy Party.

Read more about the prisoners, here.

To demand his rights, Cuban political prisoner sews his mouth shut

The extent to which some Cuban political prisoners go to demand that their human rights be respected reveals the courage of the prisoner, and the vile nature of those who hold them in the Castro gulag.

Case in point: Political prisoner Alfredo Álvarez Leyva, who has not only started a hunger strike but has gone a step further by taking a wire and sewing his mouth shut, according to a Radio Martí report.

An inmate at El Típico Nuevo prison in Las Tunas, Álvarez is protesting the poor living conditions in the jail, including the poor amount and quality of the food.

I could not determine why Álvarez, a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Resistance Movement, is in prison, except that this is not his first stint in a Cuban prison.

Debunking the myth of Che Guevara

The guy in this video does it brilliantly:

21 'Group of 75' prisoners remain in Cuban prisons

After all the hubbub about Cuba agreeing to release 52 political prisoners in jail since the "black spring" crackdown of March-April 2003, there still remain in prisons across the island 21 members of the Group of 75.

Here is the list, and the name of the prison where they are being held:

• José Daniel Ferrer (Las Tunas, Típico Viejo).
• Diosdado Glez Marrero, Guido Sigler ( Matanzas, Aguica).
• Nelson Molinet, Fidel Suárez Ruiz, Horacio Julio Piña, Eduardo Díaz Fleitas  (Pinar del Rio).
• Pedro Argüelles, Félix Navarro (Canaleta, Ciego de Ávila).
• Iván Fdez Carrillo, Librado Linares, ( Vlilla Clara, distintas prisiones.) Arnaldo Ramos ( Holguín).
• Rolando Jiménez Pozada, (Isla de La Juventud)
• Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, Miguel Galbán, Héctor Raúl Valle (Provincia La Habana, Guanajay)
• Luis Enrique Ferrer. (Santiago de Cuba).
• José Miguel Martínez (La Habana, Quivicán)
• Oscar Elías Biscet, Angel Moya, Héctor Maseda (La Habana, Combinado del Este )

To learn more about each one, click on their names on the right sidebar.

Also, as many as 10 of those still in prison have refused to agree to take exile in Spain in exchange for their release, as apparently required by the deal between Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship. They include:

• Pedro Argüelles
• Eduardo Fleitas
• Angel Moya
• Oscar Biscet
• José Daniel Ferrer
  
• Luis Enrique Ferrer

H/T for the update to my friend Maria Benjumea.)

Julián Antonio Monet Borrero, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 8/29/10 (UPDATED x 2)

Julián Antonio Monet Borrero

UPDATED, Sept. 3, 2010 — Monet is being released, albeit with conditions. He tells Radio Marti he can travel only between his home and his work. His hunger strike is over.

UPDATED, Sept. 1, 2010 — Monet tells a Cuban independent journalist that officials have told him he will be released Sept. 3 but adds he will continue his hunger strike until he is home with his family.

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Orlando Zapata Tamayo started his hunger strike, and subsequently died earlier this year so that other Cuban political prisoners, like Julián Antonio Monet Borrero, wouldn't have to, so that his sacrifice would change how political prisoners — and for that, all Cubans — are treated by the Castro dictatorship.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the regime that has enslaved and murdered Cubans for more than 51 years, is not persuaded by actions of courage and selflessness like Zapata's.

The attention and scrutiny brought on Havana by Zapata's death has forced some action by the dictatorship, like the actual or promised release of 52 prisoners of conscience.

But it has not changed the dictatorship nor how it treats the Cuban people — especially those with the courage of Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Julián Antonio Monet Borrero.

So that is why Monet, who has been on his own hunger strike since July 2 to demand his release from prison, may be near death.

It has been written on this blog and elsewhere that Zapata's death awakened an unprecedented awareness of the human rights situation, especially in the Castro gulag.

Well, now is the time for the world to show that awareness and step up on behalf of Julian Antonio Money Borrero in order to save his life.

Zapata is dead because of his protest, and the malignant neglect and indifference shown by his captors.

But he also was a victim of a world where most are asleep when it comes to the horrors of Castro's Cuba. Not enough people knew Zapata's name until it was too late to save his life.

That cannot happen again.

Julián Antonio Monet Borrero, and the cause of Cuban freedom, are depending on it.

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This is the second time Monet has been named the Prisoner of the Week. Read the earlier profile, which includes information about his background as an anti-Castro activist, here.