Uncommon Sense

Cuban activist José Eric García Rodríguez sentenced to 3 years in prison

José Eric García Rodríguez, a Camaguey activist with the Voice of the People Democratic Movement earlier this month was sentenced to three years in prison after authorities found him in possession of anti-government leaflets, according to the Hablemos Press news agency.

Garcia, 37, was arrested Sept. 11, and 72 hours he was tried, convicted and sentenced.

"For us, the real reason for the arrest is that he was very active in the activities we were doing for the 4th anniversary of our organization, held on the 5th of this month," said Jorge Gastónberry, head of the Voice of the People Democratic Movement.

In jail, Garcia started a hunger strike.

In response, prison guards ordered other inmates to attack and beat him.

Afterwards, according to his uncle, guards threw Garcia into a tiny punishment cell, complete with no light or water.

Cuban prison guards severely beat hunger-striking political prisoner

Marcelino Abreu

Guards at the Guamajal prison in Villa Clara on Sept. 24 delivered a severe beating to political prisoner Marcelino Abreu Bonora, in apparent retaliation for a hunger strike he started three days earlier, according to a report posted at Payo LIbre.

Other prisoners told Abreu's sister that after beating him, guards threw Abreu into a tiny punishment cell and denied him needed medical care.

As for his hunger strike, started to demand his immediate release from jail, Abreu is continuing with his protest, a prisoner told human rights monitors last week.

Abreu was arrested Aug. 13, 2012 -- Fidel Castro's birthday -- after the police caught him distributing anti-government leaflets and shouting anti-Castro slogans.

It wasn't until more than a year later, on Aug. 29, 2013, that Abreu was tried, convicted of bogus charges of "public disorder" and "disrespecting" Fidel Castro and sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Free Gorki Aguila NOW!

Numerous sources on the island, including dissident Antonio Rodiles and blogger Yoani Sanchez, are reporting via Twitter that Cuban police early Sunday arrested punk rocker Gorki Aguila, frontman for the band Porno Para Ricardo. He is reportedly being held at a police station in Havana.

Details of why he was arrested aren't know, except that he is a free-thinking and free-acting Cuban who has repeatedly shown himself to not be intimated by the dictatorship's thuggish behavior.

That Aguila was arrested was not a surprise but coming now -- after a European tour that raised his and his band's public stature -- it is surprising the regime would target someone who actually might generate some international attention if he were to be arrested. Of course, that remains to be seen.

Still, that attention is important because maybe it will help keep his time in Castro's jails to a minimum.

Free Gorki NOW!

Prominent dissidents arrested on 12th Sunday in a row of repression in Cuba

Former prisoners of conscience Ivan Hernandez Carrillo and Felix Navarro Rodriguez.

Independent journalist and human rights activist Guillermo "Coco" Farinas.

Punk rocker Gorki Aguila.

Members of the Damas De Blanco, or "Ladies In White," who march peacefully each Sunday to Mass to pray for their unjustly imprisoned loved ones.

These are just some of the Cuban opposition figures who reportedly have been arrested Sunday -- the 12th Sunday in a row of especially violent attacks and arrests by the Castro regime's goons across the island.

Many off the island may not notice and/or care, but there are independent journalists, bloggers and other activists trying to get the word out via Twitter and other means.

The compilation below is my tribute to them and to those risking what little freedom they have to demand freedom for Cuba.

 

Family accuses Cuban officials of ordering attack on prisoner of conscience Alexei Vargas

Alexei Vargas Martin

The Castro dictatorship is using a familar tactic to target prisoner of conscience Alexei Vargas Martín.

Vargas' wife, Yusmila Jessica Mikel, told the Hablemos Press news agency that other inmates at the Aguadores prison in Santiago de Cuba had informed her that prison officials had ordered a common prisoner known as "Limonta" to attack Vargas on Sept. 17 -- a tactic used often in the Castro gulag to target the regime's imprisoned opponents.

Limonta, who is charged with maintaining discipline in Vargas' cell block, attacked Vargas with a handmade weapon, leaving Vargas with an injury to his hand, according to the report.

"This incident was ordered by the political police officers working in the prison," Mikel said.

An activist with the Patriotic Union of Cuba, Vargas was arrested Nov. 27, 2012, after a confrontation with a regime-ordered mob outside his mother's house. His brothers, Vianco and Django Vargas, were arrested a few days later when they went to a police station to inquire about their brother.

Last month, Amnesty International designated the brothers as "prisoners of conscience," judging their arrests and detentions to be politically motivated.

Alexi Vargas' family accused prison officials of subjecting to various abuses since he was jailed.

"On several occasions he has been physically and verbally assaulted by guards and inmates on the orders of prison authorities, because of his rebellious stance against the regime," said his mother Martin Calderin Miraidar.

Cuban people push back against Castroite repression

For 10 Sundays in a row in the city of Colon in Matanzas provice, Cuban police and other goons have targeted the Damas De Blanco and other activists with repression.

On the 11th Sunday, this past Sunday, a handful of activists pushed back, demonstrating to the regime that what it was doing would not go unchallenged.

Watch the videotape:

 

Another Sunday of repression in Cuba

Every Sunday in Cuba, especially in Matanzas province, it's like Groundhog Day.

For the past 10 Sundays, Cuban Ladies In White and other peaceful activists have taken to the streets of Colon and other cities in the province. And for the past 10 Sundays, the Castro regime has unleashed its secret police and other goons to attack the activists with beatings, arrests and other repression.

Today, the 11th Sunday, was no different, as the stories and tweets compiled below reveal.

If you don't want to read all the tweets or if your Spanish is not up to snuff, just look at this, a photo of former prisoner of conscience Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, who has been arrested numerous times during the ongoing wave of repression. Via Twitter, Hernandez said his arrest today was the most violent yet, that he is sore all over his body, not just in his swollen lips.

His is the face of the Cuban resistance.

Ivan Herandez Carrillo on Sunday after his beating and arrest by the Castro police. (Via Twitter @felixncuba via @mspianoteacher).

 

Cuban political prisoner Marcelino Abreu Bonora starts hunger strike

Marcelino Abreu Bonora

Cuban political prisoner Marcelino Abreu Bonora on Friday started a hunger strike to demand his immediate release.

Abreu was arrested Aug. 13, 2012 -- Fidel Castro's birthday -- after the police caught him distributing anti-government leaflets and shouting anti-Castro slogans.

It wasn't until more than a year later, on Aug. 29, 2013, that Abreu was tried, convicted of bogus charges of "public disorder" and "disrespecting" Fidel Castro -- yes, the latter is a real "crime" in Cuba -- and sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Even though Abreu was not allowed to be in the courtroom to defend himself.

Abreu is a veteran of Cuban prisons. Read more about him here.

Video depicts Castroite repression against Cuban Damas De Blanco

Last Sunday, Sept. 15, was the 10th straight Sunday of repression against the Cuban Damas De Blanco in the city of Colon in Matanzas province.

Let's go to the videotape:

Billionaire Richard Branson dresses like mass murderer Che Guevara to sell cell phone service

If you admire British billionaire Richard Branson for his business acumen and his overall style, know this:

You're admiring someone who obviously thinks it's cool to dress up as mass murderer Che Guevara.

There's nothing admirable about that.

And there's no better reason to not fly on his airline or not buy his cell phone service.

British billionaire Richard Branson arrives aboard a jeep to attend a press conference by French telecom company Virgin Mobile for the presentation of Virgin Mobile's new offer Telib in Paris on September 18, 2013. AFP PHOTO ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

(H/T BuenavistaCuba Weblog)