Amnesty International calls for urgent action on behalf of Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia

 

Amnesty International today called for urgent action on behalf of former prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, who was arrested this week as part of a nationwide crackdown in Cuba on the peaceful opposition to the Castro dictatorship.

Via Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter:

Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García’s whereabouts are unknown following his alleged arrest in central Havana, Cuba, on 21 February.

José Daniel Ferrer García

Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who is on conditional release from prison, is believed to have been re-arrested in central Havana on 21 February. He had travelled to Havana from Santiago de Cuba province to meet with diplomats, human rights activists and dissidents in connection with his work as the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations based in eastern Cuba.

On 21 February, José Daniel Ferrer García was travelling by taxi with Elizardo Sánchez, coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional, CCDHRN), whose office he had just visited. Elizardo Sánchez exited the taxi in the centralneighbourhood of Vedado and five minutes later received a text message from José Daniel Ferrer García which stated he was being detained by police. On 22 February, the Elizardo Sánchez contacted the police information service and was informed that there was no record of José Daniel Ferrer García being held in any detention facility.

There has been no news of his whereabouts since then.

José Daniel Ferrer García 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 - 16 years. Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attempt to repress the peaceful dissident activities he and members of UNPACU are undertaking in eastern Cuba.

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