CubaBrief: Protest for freedom of all Cuban political prisoners Friday, November 8th and an Amnesty International Urgent Action for José Daniel Ferrer García

A protest for the freedom of all Cuban political prisoners will be held on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 12 noon in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC.

Cuba Decide, a citizen initiative to change the political and economic system in Cuba via a nonviolent process of transition towards democracy, is circulating the following images, calling for the protest, and highlighting the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) members who have been detained since October 1, 2019. The most high profile of the four arbitrarily detained is José Daniel Ferrer García, the leader of the organization. UNPACU was formed in 2011 and describes itself as a “non-violent political organization.”

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Amnesty International on October 8, 2019 issued an Urgent Action titled Opposition Leader Detained (CUBA: UA 134.19) for Cuban opposition activist José Daniel Ferrer García. In the Urgent Action the human rights organization outlines the basis for this campaign:

“On 1 October 2019, Cuban authorities detained José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba” (Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU) in Santiago de Cuba. He was held incommunicado for 72 hours and remains in detention without charges. Ferrer García should be informed of the charges against him or should otherwise be released, have access to lawyers of his choosing and to his family, as well as access to medical care.”

This detention, along with three other members of the UNPACU group, coincides with Amnesty International’s naming of six Cuban prisoners of conscience in in August and September of 2019. The Urgent Action for José Daniel will continue through November 19, 2019, and all are welcome to take part.

There are systemic and profound problems with the Cuban legal system. On September 11, 2019 the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights released an important report analyzing the new Cuban constitution and the overall administration of the legal system in Cuba and concluded, in part, that:

“We have found that Cuban laws lack the necessary protections to ensure respect for due process and other human rights of persons accused of committing crimes. The guarantees that do exist are not respected by authorities in the majority of cases of independent activists.”

The Castro regime has a long history of slandering and libeling opponents of the regime. The 2012 book Ready, Aim, Fire! Character Assassination in Cuba by Rafael Rojas analyses how the Cuban dictatorship systematically destroys reputations with a sustained mix of falsehoods, and exaggerations. Carlos Alberto Montaner in a 2011 presentation on the topic described how it is an intrinsic part of totalitarian regimes and its language of exclusion.

Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the presumption of innocence as a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial. However in a regime where the prosecution, judge and defense attorney must respond to the demands of the dictator how can the legal burden of proof be met, and triers of fact recognized as legitimate?

This is why on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 12 noon in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC. (2630 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009) people in good faith will peacefully gather to protest for the freedom of all of Cuba’s political prisoners on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Amnesty International, October 9, 2019

URGENT ACTION: OPPOSITION LEADER DETAINED (CUBA: UA 134.19)

On 1 October 2019, Cuban authorities detained José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba” (Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU) in Santiago de Cuba. He was held incommunicado for 72 hours and remains in detention without charges. Ferrer García should be informed of the charges against him or should otherwise be released, have access to lawyers of his choosing and to his family, as well as access to medical care.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 134.19. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

Miguel Díaz-Canel
President of the Republic of Cuba
Hidalgo, Esquina 6. Plaza de la Revolución
La Habana, CP 10400
Cuba
Email: despacho@presidencia.gob.cu
Twitter: @DiazCanelB

Ambassador José Ramón Cabañas
Embassy of Cuba
2630 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: 202 797 8515 I Fax: 202 797 8521
Email: cubaseccion@igc.apc.org, recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu
Twitter: @EmbaCubaUS @JoseRCabanas
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

Dear President Díaz-Canel,

I write to you to condemn the detention of Mr. José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba” (Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU), since 1 October 2019.

Cuban authorities have harassed and intimidated José Daniel Ferrer García for more than a decade due to his political activism. His detention follows Amnesty International’s naming of six prisoners of conscience in less than two months.

I therefore demand that your administration immediately inform José Daniel Ferrer García of the charges against him or otherwise be released; ensure he has immediate access to a lawyer of his choosing and can communicate with his family; and ensure he has prompt access to a proper medical examination, if requested.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information
According to information available to Amnesty International, José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba” (Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU), was detained by authorities on 1 October, for reasons not yet known. He was held incommunicado for at least 72 hours. José Daniel Ferrer García is one of the most critical voices in the Caribbean state.

According to his wife, on the morning of 1 October, law enforcement officials detained José Daniel Ferrer García in his house in Santiago de Cuba.

Under international human rights standards, anyone who is arrested or detained must be informed of the reasons why they are being deprived of their liberty at the time of their arrest. International standards also require that individuals are brought before a judge promptly after arrest or detention. However, based on the information available to Amnesty International, as of 7 October the authorities had not formally informed José Daniel Ferrer García of the grounds for his detention nor had they brought him before a court. As such, his detention may be arbitrary.

Furthermore, according to his wife, authorities did not provide José Daniel Ferrer García with access to his family or a phone call until 72 hours after his detention. People held in custody are entitled to notify a third person that they have been arrested or detained and where they are held. Detention without access to the outside world – incommunicado detention – facilitates torture or other ill-treatment and enforced disappearance.

Currently, José Daniel Ferrer García is held in detention in Santiago de Cuba. According to his wife, his health is delicate, however, authorities have denied him medical assistance and he was prevented from receiving medication from his family.

Cuban authorities have imprisoned, harassed and intimidated José Daniel Ferrer García for more than a decade due to his political activism. Amnesty International previously declared José Daniel Ferrer García a prisoner of conscience, along with 74 others who were imprisoned in 2003 solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions.

In 2018, José Daniel Ferrer García was held incommunicado for 10 days.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Spanish, English

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 19 November 2019

NAME AND PRONOUN: José Daniel Ferrer García (He, his, him)

LINK TO PREVIOUS UA: n/a

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