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Statement on first anniversary of crackdown in Cuba
NEW YORK, March 17, 2004 -- Tomorrow, March 18, 2004, marks the
one-year anniversary of the Cuban government's crackdown on peaceful
democracy advocates. Today, 75 dissidents remain imprisoned for
advocating for their human rights. The following joint-statement
was issued today by a group of non-governmental organizations,
including Freedom House.
First anniversary of the crackdown on peaceful dissent in
Cuba
Exactly one year ago, on March 18, 2003, the Cuban government
launched a massive crackdown on peaceful dissidents, independent
journalists, human rights defenders, and independent labor unionists,
librarians, medical doctors, and teachers. Almost 90 democracy
advocates were detained in a matter of days, their houses thoroughly
searched, and many of their belongings confiscated.
Over the following three weeks, 75 of those arrested were tried,
convicted and sent to prison with sentences ranging from 6 to
28 years. The government accused the democracy advocates of attempting
to subvert stateauthority, of spying for the United States and
other governments, and of reporting lies to the foreign press
about the Cuban economy. The trials fell far short of international
human rights standards. Judges and prosecutors in Cuba are not
independent, but operate under direct government control. International
observers were barred from the proceedings. Defense lawyers were
not given an adequate opportunity to prepare their client's defense.
They were granted access to court files less than 24 hours before
trial, and, in most cases, they did not see their clients until
an hour before court proceedings began.
At the same time as the clampdown on democracy advocates, the
Cuban government also condemned to death and executed three young
black Cubans who had attempted to leave the island illegally by
hijacking a small ferry. Detained on April 4, the three men were
summarily executed seven days later, even though they did not
physically harm anyone during the hijacking. Their relatives were
informed about the executions only after the fact, when they received
notification to retrieve the young men's bodies.
Since the crackdown, all 75 prisoners remain incarcerated and
are reportedly being held in substandard and inhumane conditions.
Most of them are held in prisons hundreds of miles from their
homes, making family visits very difficult if not almost impossible.
Many of the imprisoned, such as economists Oscar Espinosa Chepe
and Marta Beatriz Roque, are not receiving adequate medical treatment
for conditions that, in some cases, have developed during incarceration
and are life-threatening. Others, like Dr. Oscar Elías
Biscet, have been held in solitary confinement for months, denied
family visits and access to sunlight. In some cases, like that
of prisoner Blas Giraldo Reyes, the government is harassing relatives
of the incarcerated so that they avoid contact with other dissidents,
threatening harsher punishments for their loved ones in prison.
Héctor Palacios, Leonel Grave de Peralta, Marcelo López
Bañobre, Roberto De Miranda, and Luis Enrique Ferrer are
other prisoners whose activities as advocates of basic rights
and freedoms, and as supporters of the Varela Project, place them
within the ambit of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
This Declaration, adopted by the U.N. in 1998, upholds the right
of individuals and organizations to promote and protect human
rights. According to the terms of the Declaration, all persons
have the right to effective access to participation in the government
of their country and in the conduct of public affairs. The Declaration
also provides that everyone has the right to the lawful exercise
of his or her profession and to participate in peaceful activities
against violations of human rights. The Varela Project is a public
initiative in Cuba that collects signatories to a petition calling
for fundamental reforms. Cuban law provides that if more than
10,000 voters support a proposition it should be put to a referendum.
To date, more than 25,000 people have signed the Varela Project
petition calling for democracy and the respect of basic freedoms.
We call upon the Cuban government to uphold the rights of all
Cubans who wish to promote and defend human rights according to
their conscience.
Now, on the first anniversary of their arrest, we vigorously
condemn the continued imprisonment in Cuba of the 75 human rights
defenders, independent journalists, democracy advocates, independent
librarians and other activists. These Cuban citizens were imprisoned
solely for exercising their basic human rights to free expression
and assembly, and for promoting greater respect for human and
civil rights in Cuba. We urge the Cuban authorities to order their
immediate and unconditional release, and to ensure that all prisoners
are treated in accordance with basic international standards and
norms until they are released.
We call on the members of the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights, currently meeting in Geneva, to unequivocally condemn
the continued imprisonment of human rights defenders and democracy
advocates in Cuba. We urge the Cuban government to cooperate with
the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, and to permit
the unconditional access to Cuba of its representatives.
Signed by:
Freedom House
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
International League for Human Rights
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
Physicians for Human Rights
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