Spotlight on Cuba: Crackdown on Dissidents

Chronology of Events

December 10, 2004: Some 20 white-clad Cuban women - wives and mothers of political prisoners - marked International Human Rights Day with a public fast to demand the release of those jailed for peacefully opposing the 45-year-old Communist regime. "We have come together because we aspire to free our men, reunite our families and denounce the human rights violations existing in our country," the women said in a communique. The fast was held at the home of Laura Pollan, wife of Hector Maseda Gutierrez, one of 75 dissidents sentenced in the spring of 2003 to up to 28 years in prison. On the 56th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the women said "we are alone, but not for having chosen the path of retreat and solitude. Our fate has been truncated because they have taken away our men, our youth, and destroyed our families." They said that for almost two years they have "suffered the locking up, the ill treatment and the lack of human rights that our relatives endure in Cuban jails." "We, the 'Women in White,' on this day ask that justice be done and that they unconditionally release our husbands and relatives, and we pledge to continue struggling as long as a single one remains in prison," they said. Surrounded by other wives and relatives, Pollan read the communique in her home against the backdrop of a Cuban flag inscribed with the names of the 75 imprisoned opponents of the regime who were sentenced in March and April of last year. (EFE, 10/12/04)

December 8, 2004: Cuban authorities confirmed the prison sentences recently imposed on two opponents of the Communist regime. The sentences against two militants of the opposition Cuban Liberal Movement (CLM), considered illegal by the Cuban government, were handed down during an appellate hearing in Havana's provincial court. Last month, Alexis Triana Montesinos, 25, was sentenced to three months in prison and Jose Lorenzo Perez Fidalgo, 49, to four months on charges of damaging state property. Both were arrested July 5 and accused of throwing rocks at the windows of two buildings. Leon Padron Azcuy, the leader of the CLM, said there was no convincing evidence against the pair. Triana Montesinos and Perez Fidalgo "have been sentenced simply for being members of the Liberal Cuban Movement and opponents of the government," said Padron. Triana Montesinos and Perez Fidalgo "have been sentenced simply for being members of the Liberal Cuban Movement and opponents of the government," said Padron. (EFE, 8/12/04)

December 6 , 2004: Vicente Campanioni, a human rights activist and member of the Democratic Party November 30 "Frank País" was fired from his job at a health care center in Centro Habana. According with the report given to the press, the dissident was fired after refusing to participate in political activities organized by the regime authorities in working hours, and for refusing to join the National Health Workers Union, under the control of the official Cuban Workers Union (CTC). According to data provided, more than three thousand human rights activists, independent workers and members of the opposition have been fired from state posts for political reasons. (Reuters, 6/12/04)

December 6, 2004: The Cuban government released independent journalist Jorge Olivera Castillo, the seventh dissident to be released in the past week. His release brings to 14 the number of prisoners let out this year for health reasons from among the "Group of 75" democracy advocates, including rights activists, independent journalists and non-official librarians, sentenced to long prison terms in the repressive wave of the spring of 2003. Speaking to journalists at his home, Olivera defended his opposition to Castro. "Dissent shouldn't be seen as a criminal act," he said. Olivera said he planned to leave Cuba for the United States on a visa he was granted before his arrest. (EFE, CNN, 6/12/04)

December 3, 2004: Oppositionist leader Bertha Antúnez Pernet initiated a protest in front of the penitentiary La Pendiente, in the city of Santa Clara. Berta has been protesting a 21-day-punishment imposed on her brother, the imprisoned dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez". Luis Pozo, the prison’s director, told Berta that Jorge Luis was sent to a punishment cell for disrespecting Fidel Castro. Over 15 oppositionists have joined Berta in her protest, despite the deployment of police forces in front of La Pendiente. (Grupo Decoro, 3/12/04)

December 3, 2004: Migdalia Hernández Enamorado, a 35 year old forgotten activist and member of the group of the 75 was released from the prison Combinado de Guantánamo for women on November 12, 2004, said Ada Kaly Márquez Abascal, acting national delegate of the Democratic Party November 30 "Frank País". Agents of the State Security arrested Hernández Enamorado and her husband Rafael Benitez Chui on March 19, 2003, when they protested the regime's 2003 crackdown against the Cuban internal opposition in front of the local police headquarters in Guantanamo. Immediately thereafter, they were both sent to the prison Combinado de Guantánamo. On September 18, 2003, Hernández Enamorado and Benitez Chui were tried for the supposed crime of contempt and were sentenced to 2 and 4 years in prison respectively. (Puente Informativo, 3/12/04)

December 2, 2004: The Cuban authorities have released a journalist who was serving a 15-year term for anti-government activities. Edel Jose Garcia Diaz, 60, was freed following a medical checkup at a Havana prison hospital, his sister, Esperanza Garcia, told the press. She said he suffered from emotional problems and a cyst on his kidney. "Now I have to recover my health," Garcia said after showing up at the home of the wife of another dissident still behind bars. Garcia said he was granted an immigrant visa by the US government years ago and would now try to get permission from the Cuban government to leave. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was heartened and relieved at the release, but spokesman Carlos Lauria said it was vital to remember that 24 independent journalists are still behind bars in Cuba "simply for doing their jobs." (BBC, AP, 2/12/04)

December 1, 2004: Former President Vaclav Havel welcomed the release of Cuban author Raul Rivero and four other dissidents, his secretary said. Havel's secretary, Jakub Hladik, said Havel, himself a former dissident, called the Cuban's release good news. "Rivero's release is a very good news," he quoted Havel as saying. "It's also a good sign that something is happening in Cuba." (AP, 1/12/04)

December 1, 2004: At least 18 jailed Cuban dissidents have been transferred to a prison hospital in Havana amid speculation they may be released. Relatives say activist physician Oscar Elias Biscet and opposition politician Hector Palacios were among those transferred. The move comes after authorities this week released five of 75 pro-democracy activists jailed last year in a crackdown on dissidents. (AFP, VOA, 2/12/04)

January | February | March | April | May | June | July
August | September | October | November | December