Catch. Threaten. Release.
Cuban human rights activist Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" and his wife Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera are too familiar with this hallmark of Raul-style oppression.
An arrest, followed by a detention — complete with interrogation, isolation and threats of greater punishment — followed by a release. It's a rather thuggish tactic used against numerous opponents of the Castro dictatorship, but very effective in delivering the intended message: We are watching you, and at any given moment, we can make you disappear.
Antúnez and Iris disappeared this past weekend.
On Saturday — three days after they and three political prisoners were honored in Washington, D.C. — Antúnez and Iris were arrested in Placetas as they made their way to an event called to support political prisoner Ariel Sigler Amaya, who is near death, according to Cuban Democratic Directorate.
They were swarmed and detained by several police officers — none of whom could explain why they were being arrested.
When Antúnez resisted by sitting down on the ground, the officers grabbed him and began beating him on the chest. When Iris protested, the officers assaulted her, ripping her pants and bruising her wrist.
They were then driven to a local police station, and then to a jail in Santa Clara, where they were held in isolation cells until Sunday night.
Catch. Threaten. Release. The dictatorship has delivered its message numerous times since April 2007 when Antúnez was released after more than 17 years in prison.
And once again, Antúnez's message to the dictatorship was the same: You won't break me.
"The brutal beating they gave Iris and me will not intimidate us," Antúnez told the DIrectorate. "Nor will we abandon our struggle until the end.
"And remember, Cubans: 'We are all the resistance!'"
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