Uncommon Sense

Cuba backs down and releases political prisoner Vladimir Morera after 100-plus-day hunger strike

Vladimir Morera

After more than 100 days on hunger strike, Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera has a scored a huge victory for himself, and all Cubans who struggle against the Castro regime.

Morera, who was serving an 8-year prison sentence handed down just last year, on Monday was released on parole. However, it remains to be seen how much he will be able to enjoy his release, since he must first recover from the effects of a protest he started June 16 to demand his freedom.

Nonetheless, Morera, with the support of allies in Cuba and overseas, has triumphed in the enduring, 55-year struggle against the Castro tyranny. The dictatorship usually is unmoved by a prisoner's hunger strike, since it cares little whether a protesting prisoner lives or dies -- unless it somehow ends up causing the regime some uncomfort.

The dictatorship may have thought that was about to happen, as knowledge of Morera's protest grew on social media -- #SOSVladimirMorera -- and elsewhere, thanks in large part to efforts of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, or UNPACU, one of the more active opposition groups on the island.

Suicide by protest against a regime that cares little for human life is not a viable option for the Cuban opposition. Anyone willing to take that risk is someone that the cause of Cuban freedom needs to survive.

But there is no denying that Morera, and his supporters, have triumped and at least for today, the regime has been defeated.

That Morea may live, and that the dictatorship has been exposed as not being formidable as it would like the world to believe, is enough reason to celebrate.

Cuban Political Prisoners of the Day, Aracelio Ribeaux, Ernesto Riverí & Lázaro Romero, Sept. 22, 2014

Ernesto Riveri

The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported lin June that by its count, there are currently at least 114 political prisoners in Cuban jails, up from 102 at the end of 2013. (Read the list of prisoners here.)

Uncommon Sense is attempting to honor these brave Cubans by sharing their names and little about their respective stories. Ever since I started this blog, I have felt it vital to remember their names, names the regime would rather have the world never know. That is the only way to fully grasp the injustices they are suffering.

Today's prisoners are: Aracelio Ribeaux Noa, Ernesto Riverí Gascon and Lázaro Romero Hurtado.

Each an activist with the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), they were arrested Nov. 27, 2012, after they were the victims of an "act of repudiation" by a mob organized and ordered by the secret police. At least one of them, Riveri, was arrested while leaving a birthday party.

They didn't get their day in court -- such as it is in Cuba -- until this past June 13, when they and seven other activists stood trial in Santiago de Cuba. Since only family members were allowed in the courtroom, several dozen other members of UNPACU and the Damas De Blanco ("Ladies In White") stood vigil outside.

The activists each faced charges of "disrespect," "resistance," "public disorder" and "threatening," the common litany of charges the regime uses when targeting its opposition. Prosecutors sought 2-year sentences for Ribeaux and Riveri and 5 years for Romero, according to the human rights commission.

"The trial was manipulated by the political police," said Erick Díaz Terrero, a relative of one of the defendants.

Four of the other activists tried were not included on the human rights commission's list of political prisoners. But the other three -- the brothers Alexi, Bianco and Diango Vargas Martin -- have been named by Amnesty International as "prisoners of conscience."

The defendants were scheduled to hear the court's verdict and sentencing on July 1, but the final result could not be determined. However, Castro's prosecutors almost always get what they want.

After 3 months on hunger strike, Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera near death

Vladimir Morera Bacallao 

On the brink of death after more than three months on hunger strike for his freedom, Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera Bacallao last week agreed to be fed by a tube after a visit from the Roman Catholic bishop of Santa Clara.

Doctors say Morera, an independent trade unionist  who last year was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of "disrespect," "public disorder" and "damages," is suffering from gastrointenstinal bleeding, low blood pressure and low blood sugar. His weight has dropped from 165 pounds to about 80 pounds.

Whether Bishop Arturo González's intervention will save his life remains to be determined. According to doctors, Morera could die at any moment from cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Hunger strikes against the Castro dictatorship are usually futile, as the regime rarely cares whether a prisoner lives or dies -- as long as the outside world doesn't notice and try to hold regime accountable for a man's death. 

Protest by suicde is not a viable option in Cuba. Aside from the moral implications, Cuba needs men with the courage of Morera to live and fight for justice and freedom in Cuba. However, it is understandable that some would choose to fight with the only weapon available to them: Their lives.

Morera has accepted his possible fate.

But make no mistake: If he dies because of his protest, it will be because of the cruel, unjust dictatorship that imprisoned him.

Cuban political prisoner Yohannes Arce set to stand trial Tuesday, Sept. 16

Yohannes Arce

Cuban law school student and political prisoner Yohannes Arce, in jail since May 13, is set to stand trial Tuesday, Sept. 16, according to Cuban opposition activist Yusmila Reyna Ferrer.

Anuncian juicio contra Yohanne Arce #UNPACU para el 16 bajo supuesto delito d atentado #Libertadpresopolitico

— Yusmila Reyna Ferrer (@YusmilaReyna) September 14, 2014

Diario de Cuba reported Sunday that Arce was arrested after signs carrying anti-government slogans appeared in Caimanera. Prosecutors are seeking a 3-year sentence for a charge of "assault." according to the report.

This is part of what I wrote about Arce in July:

Arce, of Guantanamo is one of numerous activists affiliated with the opposition Patriotic Union of Cuba, or UNPACU, currently in the Castro gulag. He was arrested May 13, and faces a pending charge of "assault" after he refused to be arbitrarily arrested by Cuban police because of his opposition activity. Officers responded by beating him, leaving Arce with injuries that included a broken tooth.

Immediately after his arrest, Arce started a hunger strike that he ended after 23 days, at the urging of his mother who was concerned about his declining health after he was transferred to a hospital's intensive care unit.

A government lawyer also told Arce that his case would be quickly resolved if he ended his protest.

Hunger strike leaves Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera 'gravely' ill

Vladimir Morera

After almost two months on hunger strike, Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera is "gravely" ill, according to Cuban opposition activist Librado Linares Garcia.

 

#CUBA El PP Vladimir Morera est n HH dd el 16 d Junio.Tiene la Presion Arterial n 90 cn 0 y cianotico.Muy grave. Movilicemonos.SOS 54038987

— Librado Linares (@LibradoLinares) September 15, 2014

Morera is November was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of public disorder, assault, "disrespect" and "injuries," in connection with how he reacted when police raided the home of another activist in February 2013.

According to Linares, Morera started his latest hunger strike on June 16. He is suffering from low blood pressure and has become cyanotic, meaning his skin is turning blue due to the tissues near the skin surface having low oxygen saturation.

Cuban Political Prisoner of the Day, Daniel Enrique Quesada Chaveco, Sept. 13, 2014

The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported lin June that by its count, there are currently at least 114 political prisoners in Cuban jails, up from 102 at the end of 2013. (Read the list of prisoners here.)

Uncommon Sense is attempting to honor these brave Cubans by sharing their names and little about their respective stories. Ever since I started this blog, I have felt it vital to remember their names, names the regime would rather have the world never know. That is the only way to fully grasp the injustices they are suffering.

Today's prisoner is Daniel Enrique Quesada Chaveco.

An activist with the Patriotic Union of Cuba, or UNPACU, Quesada was arrested by the Castro secret police on Aug. 15, 2013. He has been charged with "assault," and prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence, according to the human rights commission.

Cuban Political Prisoner of the Day, Emilio Plana Robert, Sept. 10, 2014

The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported lin June that by its count, there are currently at least 114 political prisoners in Cuban jails, up from 102 at the end of 2013. (Read the list of prisoners here.)

Uncommon Sense is attempting to honor these brave Cubans by sharing their names and little about their respective stories. Ever since I started this blog, I have felt it vital to remember their names, names the regime would rather have the world never know. That is the only way to fully grasp the injustices they are suffering.

Today's prisoner is Emilio Plana Robert.

Plana Robert, a member of the Resistance and Democracy Movement, on Oct. 6, 2012, was tried in Guantánamo and convicted of being a "pre-criminal social danger" and sentenced to 42 months in prison. He was convicted, even though he had never before had been arrested, warned to halt his opposition activities, etc.

I was able to find at least one report, dated January 2013, that indicated Plana Robert had been tortured while in prison.

Cuban regime blackmails independent journalist: Leave Cuba or go to prison

Bernardo Arevalo Padron

Reporters Without Borders has the story of Bernardo Arevalo Padron:

Bernardo Arévalo Padrón, an independent journalist based in Cienfuegos, 250 km southeast of Havana, said the police of pressured him to leave Cuba when they arrested him on 6 September because of his reporting for the opposition newspaper El Cubano Libre, de Hoy.

Arévalo told Reporters Without Borders that the Cienfuegos police threatened him with a four-year jail sentence if he did not leave the island.

“I don’t want to leave Cuba, I don’t want to,” Arévalo said. “My decision is irrevocable. I would rather go to prison than leave the country. I want to die in Cuba.”

Arévalo spent six years as a political prisoner, from 1997 to 2003, after being convicted of insulting Fidel Castro and then Vice-President Carlos Lage. Between then and last weekend, he had only been detained once – for eight hours in February 2010.

“We condemn the pressure being placed on Arévalo,” said Camille Soulier, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Americas desk. “Cuba is reestablishing relations with the European Union and EU member countries but its treatment of independent journalists has not changed. Exile or prison, that’s freedom of information in Cuba today.”

Read more about how the Castro dictatorship persecutes independent journalists, here.

Cuban Political Prisoners of the Day, Darian Dufuss, Ricardo Pelier & Yoelkis Rosabal, Sept. 7, 2014

The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported lin June that by its count, there are currently at least 114 political prisoners in Cuban jails, up from 102 at the end of 2013. (Read the list of prisoners here.)

Uncommon Sense is attempting to honor these brave Cubans by sharing their names and little about their respective stories. Ever since I started this blog, I have felt it vital to remember their names, names the regime would rather have the world never know. That is the only way to fully grasp the injustices they are suffering.

Today's political prisoners are Darian Ernesto Dufuss Preval, Ricardo Pelier Frómeta and Yoelkis Rosabal Flores. (There are news accounts with different variations of Dufuss' name; I'm going with the human rights commission's version.)

Dufus, Pelier and Rosabal are all activists with the Patriotic Union of Cuba, or UNPACU, one of the largest and most active opposition groups on the island. Dozens of its members are currently sitting in Cuban jails.

The trio were arrested May 13-15, 2014, after they protested the arrest of another UNPACU activist, Yohannes Arce, which currently is on a hunger strike he started more than 20 days ago.

The commission and at least one news account say the three face charges of "assault" and "attempted murder." However, their only "crime," according to the commission, is that they expressed anti-government positions and as a result, the police framed them.

Second Cuban human rights monitor reports more than 600 political arrests in August

The Cuban secret police and other security forces in August made at least 608 politically motivated arrests in August, according to the Hablemos Press news agency/human rights monitor.

It was the lowest monthly count so far in 2014, but CIHPRESS said the relatively low count was not accompanied by an overall improvement in the human rights situation on the island.

As of Aug. 31, CIHPRESS for the year recorded 6,805 arrests, smashing the previous record of 5,718 documented in all of 2013. At the current pace, Cuba will finish this year with more than 10,200 political arrests.

The exact numbers differ but the pattern revealed in CIHPRESS's report mirror the findings of another human rights monitor on the island, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation: Repression in Cuba is continuing at a torrid pace.

Read CIHPRESS's report, including details on each arrest it documented, here.