Dissidents arrested in Cuba – Urgent Appeal

Document – Cuba: Dissidents arrested in Cuba

UA: 265/11 Index: AMR 25/005/2011 Cuba Date: 1 September 2011

URGENT ACTION

DISSIDENTS ARRESTED IN CUBA

Eleven members of a dissident organization and three of their relatives
have been detained , without be ing told of any charge s against them ,
since their arrest on 28 August in Cuba. They have not been allowed
access to their families.

Eleven members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba,
UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations from the east of
Cuba have been detained without charge since 28 August. Three other men,
who are relatives of the detainees, are also in detention. According to
relatives they are being held at a State Security facility on the
outskirts of the city of Santiago de Cuba.

Twenty-seven members of UNPACU met at the house of Marino Antomarchit in
the town of Palma Soriano, in the south-eastern province of Santiago de
Cuba, to discuss the current crackdown against dissidents in the
province. Witnesses state that around 140 members of the security
forces, including the National Revolutionary Police (Policía Nacional
Revolucionaria), State Security and members of the prison service
surrounded the house at 1pm. Shortly afterwards, tear gas canisters were
launched into the house, where Marino Antomarchit's two-year old
daughter and 76-year-old mother were also present, causing nausea and
coughing of those who were there. At 5:40pm, between 30 to 40 members of
the security forces entered the house and reportedly beat the men and
caused damage to the house. The 27 UNPACU members were arrested as were
three relatives who had come to the house after the arrival of security
forces. Sixteen of the men were released on 31 August, all without
charge. Eleven of them remain incarcerated in overcrowded conditions and
have not been allowed family visits.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

calling on the authorities to charge those detained on 28 August with
recognizable criminal offences or release them immediately;

asking them to ensure that anyone charged is given a fair trial in
compliance with international standards;

urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of
members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and any other citizens who seek
to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and
association.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 OCTOBER 2011 TO :

Head of State and Government

Raúl Castro Ruz

Presidente

La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +53 7 8333085 (via Foreign Ministry); +1 2127791697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)

Email: (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)

Salutation: Su Excelencia/

Your Excellency

Interior Minister

General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra

Ministro del Interior y Prisiones

Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +537 8556621, +1 2127791697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)

Email:

Salutation: Su Excelencia/

Your Excellency

And copies to:

First Secretary, Cuban Communist Party of Santiago de Cuba

Lázaro Espósito

Primer Secretario del Partido Comunista de Santiago de Cuba

Avenida Garzón 51

Plaza de Martes

Santiago de Cuba

Provincia de Santiago de Cuba

Cuba

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your
country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address
Salutation Salutation

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date.

URGENT ACTION

DISSIDENTS ARRESTED IN CUBA
ADditional Information

The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is a recently formed umbrella group
of dissident organizations, primarily in Santiago de Cuba but also in
neighbouring provinces of eastern Cuba. UNPACU seeks democratic change
in Cuba via non-violent means. UNPACU's coordinator is former prisoner
of conscience, José Daniel Ferrer García, who was released in March 2011
following eight years imprisonment.

The last few weeks has seen increasing repression against dissidents in
the province of Santiago de Cuba. The Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco),
a group of female relatives of former prisoners of conscience and
current political prisoners, and the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo),
have for the last month faced arbitrary arrest and physical assault from
members of the security forces and government supporters as they have
tried to carry out a weekly silent protest march after attending mass at
the cathedral in Santiago de Cuba city. Other dissidents, the majority
of them from UNPACU and many with close ties to the Damas have also
faced harassment and intimidation from the security forces and
government supporters and are increasingly victims of arbitrary arrest.

Name: Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya

Víctor Campa Almenares

Pedro Campa Almenares

Andrés García Almenares

Yosvanys García Infante

The other names have not been verified

Gender m/f: All the detainees are male

UA: 265/11 Index: AMR 25/005/2011 Issue Date: 1 September 2011"

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/005/2011/en/f1325a4e-4f3e-458d-84f4-679d41d6ab6b/amr250052011en.html