Uncommon Sense

Human rights group says 16 #Cuba dissidents at risk of being returned to prison

A Spain-based human rights group is warning that 16 "Group of 75" dissidents arrested and imprisoned during the "black spring" of 2003 and subsequently "paroled" are at risk of being returned to prisoned.

The Cuban Human Rights Observatory this week asked the Inter American Human Rights Commission to intervene on behalf of:

Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello
Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique
José Daniel Ferrer García
Oscar Espinosa Chepe
Jorge Olivera Castillo
Iván Hernández Carrillo
Pedro Arguelles Morán
Diosdado González Marrero
Félix Navarro Rodríguez
Oscar Elias Biscet González
Héctor Palacio Ruiz
Librado Linares García
Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez
Marcelo Manuel López Bañobre
Eduardo Díaz Fleitas
Ángel Moya Acosta

The Castro regime earned for itself a lot of positive headlines in 2010 and earlier this year when it released the remaining Group of 75 prisoners still in jail. But lost in the hubub is that A) most of those released were forced to accept overseas exile as a condition of their parole; and B) most of those who remained in Cuba have been subjected to harassment, arrests, etc. and other repression because of their resumed activism.

These men -- and one woman -- now need the world's help because despite the paroles and other recent "reforms" in Cuba, nothing has changed.

Cuban political prisoner Ivonne Malleza declares hunger strike

Ivonne Malleza

Cuba political prisoner Ivonne Malleza started a hunger strike after she was transferred to the maximum security Manto Negro prison.

Malleza, her husband Ignacio Martinez and a third activist, Isabel Alvarez, were arrested Nov. 30 during a protest at a Havana park.

They reportedly each face a charge of "public disorder," which could come with a 5-year prison sentence.

To protest, their arrest and continued detention, sign this petition.

For more about Malleza, read this.

Despite 'amnesty', Castro regime still jailing those who dare to exercise their rights

Which recent development best represents the true nature of the Castro dictatorship?

The government that just before Christmas granted amnesty to almost 3,000 prisoners, which a prominent human rights activist dismissed as a "media show."

Or the government that is holding in its worst jails three Cubans -- Ivonne Malleza, Ignacio Martinez and Isabel Alvarez -- who dared to exercise their God-given, but banned-in-Cuba right of free expression.

Fifty-three years of history ought to give you the answer.

Learn more about Malleza and her activism here and here.

Read an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI on behalf of Malleza, Martinez and Alvarez here.

Show your support for Malleza, Martinez and Alvarez by signing this petition.

Castro regime in Cuba has survived long past its expiration date

The Cuban communist party is reportedly considering 10-year term limits for top government officials, the latest in so-called "reforms" to be floated by dictator Raul Castro as he tries to figure out ways to hold onto and expand its power.

Unfortunate for Cuba and the millions of Cubans who have been murdered, imprisoned, exiled, etc. during the past 53 years, term limits are not retroactive.

Human rights activist: Among 3,000 Cuba parolees, only five are political prisoners

The Castro dictatorship won pre-Christmas headlines after announcing the parole of some 3,000 prisoners, despite the continued arrest and detention of anti-government activists.

A prominent human rights activists reports that so far, he has been able to confirm the names of only five political prisoners among the parolees.

They are:

• Carlos Martínez Ballester, who served four years of a 15-year sentence for "revealing state secrets."
• Yordani Martínez Carvajal and Walfrido Rodríguez Piloto, who earlier this year were each sentenced to 5 years in prison for hanging anti-Castro signs in Havana.
• Irán (or Hiram) González Torna, who in 1990 was sentenced to 25 years for piracy, illegal exit and evasion.
• Augusto Guerra Márquez, who had been in jail since 2006, serving a 10-year sentence to "attack authority."

 

In Cuba, repression doesn't take a holiday on Christmas

Some Cubans may be hopeful about their future this Christmas, but the reality is that Castroite repression never takes a holiday.

Via Twitter and other sources, Cuban dissidents on Sunday reported numerous arrests and other moves by the regime to put a damper on the Christmas spirit. Cuban State Security agents attacked several members of the Damas De Blanco has they tried to attend Mass on Christmas morning.

Others arrested included Guillermo Farinas, recipients of the Sahkarov human rights prize presented by the European Union; and human rights Sara Martha Fonseca.

Fonseca and two other women were arrested this weekend during a demonstration in which they were demanding the release of political prisoners Ivonne Malleza and Ignacio Martinez.

Christmas usually offers a chance to hope for a better future.

But in Cuba, it's just more of the same.

The Cuban resistance calls for Christmas Eve prayer for Cuba

Pedazos de la Isla has the story:

The Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Resistance Front and other dissident organizations have called on all Cubans in and out of the island to participate in a moment of prayer at 8 PM tonight, December 24th, Christmas Eve or “Nochebuena” as Cubans and other Hispanics refer to the day.  According to the dissidents themselves, the prayers are for a free Cuba, and a better future where there are no political prisoners and excessive aggressions and divisions amongst the Cuban people.  Among the many activists who have participated in this calling are Antunez, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Luis Felipe Rojas, Caridad Caballero Batista, Idania Yanez Contreras, Raul Risco Perez, Berta Soler, Angel Moya and Librado Linares.

Every 24th of the month is the Day of the Resistance, where dissidents of diverse provinces and pro-democracy organizations participate in peaceful actions against the Castro tyranny and in demand of human rights for ALL Cubans.  This date is usually marked by public protests, marches, or the handing out of pro-freedom pamphlets, but this time activists have opted for a moment of prayer, also because of the significance of the religious date.

Below is the audio of numerous opposition activists sharing their wishes for a future Cuba, as well as their reasons for calling on a moment of prayer.  The audio is Spanish, there is no translation yet, but among the wishes are the freedom of all political prisoners, freedom for the activists Ivonne Malleza, Ignacio Martinez and Isabel Haydee (detained for 3 weeks now for saying the Cuban people are hungry), the end of family divisions, the end of the dictatorship, and many other thoughts of goodwill.  There are hundreds of dissidents participating in this call, and only some appear here in this video:

Merry Christmas to all! Let us not forget our brothers and sisters in the island during this very special day.

Cuban political prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza on hunger strike for almost a month

Cuban political prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza has been on hunger strike for 29 days, and Cuban activists are taking to the streets on his behalf.

Eight members of the Damas De Blanco and an activist with the Patriotic Union of Cuba were arrested Friday outside the Aguadores prison in Santiago de Cuba, where alongside Villar's wife, Mariza Pelegrino Cabrales, and their two young children, they were demanding that Villar be transferred to a hospital.

"Mariza is demanding that prison authorities take him to the hospital, and that they let her see him so she can see what condition he is in," said former prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, whose wife Belkys Cantillo Ramírez was one of the Damas arrested.

Villar was arrested this past November in Contramaestre during a human rights protest. He was later tried, convicted of the supposed crimes of "disrespect," "assault" and "resistance" and sentenced to four years in prison.

Among the other Damas arrested were Tania Montoya Vázquez, Liudmila Rodríguez Palomo, Karina Quintana Hernández and Mayelín La O Montero.

Ariel Castillo Chacón, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 12/25/11

This post will remain at the top of the page through Dec. 30, events allowing. To read newer posts, scroll down. And for Cuba-related news and information, follow Uncommon Sense on Twitter @marcmasferrer.

By all accounts available, Ariel Castillo Chacón is not an anti-Castro activist, at least no more than the typical Cuban trying to survive life during dictatorship.

Taking no chances and acting before he might actually do something illegal, a Castro court on Dec. 16 found Castillo to be a "pre-criminal social danger" and sentenced him to two years in prison.

Castillo may not fit the traditional definition of "dissident," but there was a decidely political quality to his prosecution this month in Cienfuegos.

The court said Castillo is a social misfit because he doesn't work with the state and doesn't participate in activities sponsored by his block's Committee in the Defense of the Revolution.

Castillo's father, Edil Castillo Paseiro, said the authorities also accused his son of gathering with homosexuals and -- in perhaps the most serious charge against him, at least in the eyes of the regime -- and of having too many family members living in the United States.

The "social dangerousness" law is one of the most nefarious ways the Castro regime enforces its dictatorship, a means of repression that only George Orwell could have imagined.

As many in the world applaud Raul Castro's so-called "reforms," the case of Ariel Castillo illustrates that the regime has relaxed not one bit the control it holds on the lives of the Cuban people.

New opposition group forms in Havana

Much of the work to build a civil society in Cuba is being done beyond the attention of most people, which is too bad because the organizing, the campaigning, the resisting to the Castro regime etc., taking place will serve as the foundation for a free nation.

Cuban Youth Forum has a report on a new front in the struggle to build a new and freer Cuba:

This past 10th of October, The Resistance Front inaugurated the Brothers to the Rescue Freedom and Democracy Movement.

The headquarters of this dissident movement will be in Cisneros Betancourt Street, #1294 between 3rd and Lindero, Los Pinos, Arroyo Naranjo, Havana.  The BRFDM is presided over by Caridad Ramirez Utria, whom lives near that same address.

“This Movement is affiliated to the Orlando Zapata Tamayo Civic Resistance Front, will be guided by the principles of the Declaration of Human Rights and its international pacts in regards to civil liberties.  We know that repression in Cuba aims to destroy these desires for freedom, but we are challenging the dictatorship in a non-violent manner.  We know that God will grant us victory if we continue to be firm in our ideas,” declared Ramirez Utria.

“The Brothers to the Rescue Movement pays homage to the exile organization of that same name which saved so many Cuban lives out in the open sea as they tried to achieve freedom.  We will continue their brave example“, said Heriberto Pons Ruiz, vice-president of the organization.

The inauguration activity concluded with a peaceful march through the streets of Arroyo Naranja.  The following activists participated:  Caridad Ramírez Utria; Hermógenes Guerrero Gómez; Heriberto Pons Ruiz; Yamilet Clapé Leandro; Raúl Parada Ramírez; Yosvanis Gonzales Lemus; René Rouco Machín; Jennifer Suarez Varela; Idania Torres Rondón.