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Security forces detain 15

M | 07.12.2007 15:51 | Repression | Social Struggles

15 Human rights dissidents have been detained by police and security teams after they stormed into a church

The priest, Jose Conrado Rodriguez, said at least five people were detained during the crackdown on Tuesday with 10 people arrested later that day. He said by telephone,

"They barged in spraying gas in the faces of people from those spray cans, and went about dishing out blows and shouting, about 15-20 patrol cars turned up at the church, outside which some 600 people had gathered, many of them from a protest march that had just ended.

Some 25 dissidents dressed in black had walked inside the church to protest the arrest of another government opponent, said Elizardo Sanchez, president of the Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission.

"The repressors, headed by a lieutenant colonel and other state security officers, desecrated the church of Santa Teresita after kicking one of its doors open and savagely assaulting the peaceful dissidents," he said in a statement.

Sanchez, whose organization is outlawed, later said that eight detainees had been let go by authorities, but that "seven remain under arrest."

He said the crackdown was an "extremely serious act of political repression with practically no precedent." The commission said it "hopes the government will conduct a serious investigation and stop encouraging or allowing premeditated and unnecessary acts of police brutality against citizens trying to exercise their right to demonstrate."

Sanchez said the police action was part of "a policy of preventive repression" ahead of Human Rights Day on December 10 when several opposition members have scheduled events.

Santiago de Cuba Archbishop Dionisio Garcia also voiced concern.

"We're not used to this. I had no idea uniformed police could do that ... we're talking now to avoid such incidents in future," he said, adding he would meet with government officials on Thursday.

Conrado Rodriguez said that as the dissidents were rounded up, he told the police: "I want you to explain to me what is going on here, because I don't understand anything. How is this act of violence possible?"

Sanchez's group says there are about 250 political prisoners in Cuba.



M

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07.12.2007 16:50

Below reproduced is the 2007 report from Amnesty International on the current situation in Cuba

CUBA

Head of state and government: Raúl Castro Ruz (provisionally replaced Fidel Castro Ruz in July)
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: not ratified

Freedom of expression, association and movement continued to be severely restricted. At least 69 prisoners of conscience remained imprisoned for their political opinions. Political dissidents, independent journalists and human rights activists continued to be harassed, intimidated and detained, some without charge or trial. Cubans continued to feel the negative impact of the US embargo.

Background
During 2006 Cuba secured a place on the UN Human Rights Council and assumed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement during its XIV Summit in Havana in September.

In July, Fidel Castro underwent surgery and for the first time since 1959 transferred his responsibilities to other senior officials, including his brother, Raúl Castro Ruz. Political opposition parties and activities were not tolerated.

Political relations with the USA remained tense despite economic exports of agricultural products to Cuba exceeding US$500 million. The US Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba issued an update of its previous report in July. The European Union did not reintroduce sanctions lifted in 2005 despite continued concerns over the human rights situation in Cuba.

The US government set up a law enforcement task force to track down and prosecute those who circumvent restrictions on travelling and commercial exchanges with Cuba. In November, for the 15th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the USA to end its embargo on Cuba.

The government continued to deny the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cuba access to the country. AI and other independent human rights organizations were also not allowed to visit.

Prisoners of conscience
At the end of the year, 69 prisoners of conscience continued to be held for their non-violent political views or activities. Twelve others continued to serve their sentences outside prison because of health concerns. No releases of prisoners of conscience were reported during the year.

• Orlando Zapata Tamayo was sentenced to three years in 2003 on charges of showing "contempt to the figure of Fidel Castro", "public disorder" and "resistance". In November 2005 he was reportedly sentenced to an additional 15 years for "contempt" and "resistance" in prison. In May 2006, he was again tried on the same charges and sentenced to an additional seven-year term. He was serving a prison sentence of 25 years and six months.

Detention without charge or trial
Scores of people continued to be held without charge on suspicion of counter-revolutionary activities or on unclear charges. Their legal status remained unclear at the end of the year.

• Prisoner of conscience Oscar Mariano González Pérez, an independent journalist who was arrested in July 2005 as he was about to take part in a demonstration in front of the French embassy, remained in detention without charge or trial.

Freedom of expression and association
Severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association persisted. All print and broadcast media remained under state control. There was a rise in the harassment and intimidation of independent journalists and librarians. People suspected of links with dissident groups or involved in promoting human rights were arrested and detained. There was an increase in arrests on charges of "pre-criminal dangerousness". Access to the Internet remained severely limited outside governmental offices and educational institutions. Journalist Guillermo Fariñas staged a seven-month hunger strike to obtain access to the Internet, without success.

• Armando Betancourt Reina, a freelance journalist, was arrested on 23 May as he took notes and photographs of evictions from a house in the city of Camagüey. He was charged with public disorder. Armando Betancourt was reportedly held incommunicado for a week at the police station before being transferred to Cerámica Roja prison in Camagüey on 6 June. He was awaiting trial at the end of the year.

Harassment and intimidation of dissidents and activists
There was an increase in the public harassment and intimidation of human rights activists and political dissidents by quasi-official groups in so-called acts of repudiation.

• Juan Carlos González Leiva, President of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights, was reportedly the target of several "acts of repudiation" - involving government supporters reportedly acting with the collusion of the authorities - at his home in the city of Ciego de Avila. He and his family were repeatedly threatened by demonstrators. Juan Carlos González Leiva, who is blind, was arrested in March 2002 for "disrespect", "public disorder", "resistance" and "disobedience" and spent two years in prison without trial. In April 2004 he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, to be served at his home.

M


Update to original post

08.12.2007 14:37

The Roman Catholic Church in Cuba said on Thursday it was seeking an explanation from country's communist authorities for the beating and arrest of dissidents in a parish hall two days ago. Cuba's main rights group said the seven people arrested by state security police at the parish church of Santa Teresita in the eastern city of Santiago on Tuesday had been released.

"The Archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Dionisio Garcia, is holding conversations with the Office of Religious Affairs (of the Central Committee of the Communist Party)," a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference in Cuba said.

Cuban police and state security officers also visited the homes of twenty dissidents on Friday after they had produced and distributed a news sheet calling for democratic reforms and free elections. The dissedents were beaten and their printing equipment confiscated, three were arrested but later released for the offence of "insulting the image of Fidel Castro" after his image was used on one of the leaflets.

M


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