Cuba USA
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Cuba Date: 23 February 2012
URGENT ACTION
EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED
Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García’s whereabouts are unknown following his alleged arrest in central Havana, Cuba, on 21 February.
Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who is on conditional release from prison, is believed to have been re-arrested in central Havana on 21 February. He had travelled to Havana from Santiago de Cuba province to meet with diplomats, human rights activists and dissidents in connection with his work as the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations based in eastern Cuba.
On 21 February, José Daniel Ferrer García was travelling by taxi with Elizardo Sánchez, coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional, CCDHRN), whose office he had just visited. Elizardo Sánchez exited the taxi in the central neighbourhood of Vedado and five minutes later received a text message from José Daniel Ferrer García which stated he was being detained by police. On 22 February, the Elizardo Sánchez contacted the police information service and was informed that there was no record of José Daniel Ferrer García being held in any detention facility.
There has been no news of his whereabouts since then.
José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011, having served eight of his 25 year
sentence. Under the terms of his release, he could be sent back to prison to serve out the remainder of his
sentence - 16 years. Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attempt to repress the peaceful dissident activities he and members of UNPACU are undertaking in eastern Cuba.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to provide information as to the circumstances of José Daniel Ferrer García’s
arrest on 21 February and immediately reveal his current whereabouts;
Urging them, that if detained, to immediately release José Daniel Ferrer García, unless there is sufficient
evidence to charge him with an internationally-recognizable criminal offence;
Urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of members of the Patriotic Union of
Cuba and all other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 APRIL 2012 TO:
Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign
Ministry); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: [email protected] (c/o Cuban Mission
to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior,
Plaza de la Revolución,
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscalía General de la República,
Fiscalía General de la República,
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro
Habana
La Habana,
Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
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
EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011 following eight years
imprisonment. He was one of 75 people who were arrested and sentenced following a crackdown on Cuban dissidence in March 2003. All 75 were adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, as they had acted non-violently and
were imprisoned under Cuban legislation which illegitimately criminalizes political dissent. José Daniel Ferrer García was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in relation to his participation in the Varela Project, which aimed at requesting a national referendum on democratic reforms. Article 31.1.4 of the Cuban Criminal Code states that conditional release allows a prisoner to see out the remainder of their sentence outside prison provided they demonstrate “good behaviour” (“buena conducta”).
The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is an umbrella group of dissident organizations, based primarily in Santiago de Cuba, but also in neighbouring provinces of eastern Cuba. UNPACU seeks democratic change in Cuba via non-violent means.
Since UNPACU’s creation in mid-2011, its members have faced constant harassment and intimidation form the Cuban authorities, including arbitrary detention. One of UNPACU’s members, prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza died in January 2012 following a hunger strike in protest at his four-year prison sentence following a summary trial. This repression is part of a general crackdown against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba which has gathered pace since mid-2011.
Name: José Daniel Ferrer García
Gender m/f: m
UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Issue Date: 23 February 2012
- Unpacu Leader's Houses Assaulted
Dear Sirs and Madams, Please take account on this new Press Release from UNPACU: UNPACU LEADER'S HOUSES ASSAULTED José Daniel Ferrer and Ovidio Martín Castellanos, detained and being held in unknown whereaboutsLink to press release in HTML:...
- Cuba:video/ Testomonies Of Raid Of April 2, 2012
Daughter of former Cuban political prisoner of conscience, JOSE DANIEL FERRER GARCIA, provides a brief description of the violent raid against her home. Ferrer Garcia continues under arrest since April 2, 2012 when he was violently arrested with his...
- Cuban Authorities Prevent Activists From Commemorating Death Of Dissident
Follow us on / Síguenos en / Suivez-nous sur www.facebook.com/Amnesty.International.Caribbean AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 23 February 2012 Cuban authorities prevent activists from commemorating death of dissident Authorities in Cuba...
- Pro-democracy Leaders Warn Of A Possible Wave Of Repression Against The Peaceful Resistance
Two leaders in the peaceful Cuban resistance movement who were released on the week of December 12-18 after being subjected to violent arrests and inhumane prison conditions declared that the Cuban regime is intimidated by the rise and strength of the...
- Activists With Fractures Are Hospitalized After Brutal Attack
CUBA: Activists with fractures hospitalized after brutal attack / URGENT ACTIVISTS WITH FRACTURES ARE HOSPITALIZED AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK LADIES IN WHITE VIOLENTLY REPRESSED AFTER MASS Santiago de Cuba / Palmarito de Cauto / August 7, 2011 Ladies in...
Cuba USA
URGENT ACTION
Follow us on / Síguenos en / Suivez-nous sur www.facebook.com/Amnesty.International.Caribbean
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Cuba Date: 23 February 2012
URGENT ACTION
EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED
Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García’s whereabouts are unknown following his alleged arrest in central Havana, Cuba, on 21 February.
Former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, who is on conditional release from prison, is believed to have been re-arrested in central Havana on 21 February. He had travelled to Havana from Santiago de Cuba province to meet with diplomats, human rights activists and dissidents in connection with his work as the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations based in eastern Cuba.
On 21 February, José Daniel Ferrer García was travelling by taxi with Elizardo Sánchez, coordinator of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional, CCDHRN), whose office he had just visited. Elizardo Sánchez exited the taxi in the central neighbourhood of Vedado and five minutes later received a text message from José Daniel Ferrer García which stated he was being detained by police. On 22 February, the Elizardo Sánchez contacted the police information service and was informed that there was no record of José Daniel Ferrer García being held in any detention facility.
There has been no news of his whereabouts since then.
José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011, having served eight of his 25 year
sentence. Under the terms of his release, he could be sent back to prison to serve out the remainder of his
sentence - 16 years. Amnesty International believes his arrest is an attempt to repress the peaceful dissident activities he and members of UNPACU are undertaking in eastern Cuba.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to provide information as to the circumstances of José Daniel Ferrer García’s
arrest on 21 February and immediately reveal his current whereabouts;
Urging them, that if detained, to immediately release José Daniel Ferrer García, unless there is sufficient
evidence to charge him with an internationally-recognizable criminal offence;
Urging them to immediately cease the harassment and intimidation of members of the Patriotic Union of
Cuba and all other citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 APRIL 2012 TO:
Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign
Ministry); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: [email protected] (c/o Cuban Mission
to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior,
Plaza de la Revolución,
La Habana,
Cuba
Fax: +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscalía General de la República,
Fiscalía General de la República,
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro
Habana
La Habana,
Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
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
EX PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE BELIEVED DETAINED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was granted conditional release in March 2011 following eight years
imprisonment. He was one of 75 people who were arrested and sentenced following a crackdown on Cuban dissidence in March 2003. All 75 were adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, as they had acted non-violently and
were imprisoned under Cuban legislation which illegitimately criminalizes political dissent. José Daniel Ferrer García was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in relation to his participation in the Varela Project, which aimed at requesting a national referendum on democratic reforms. Article 31.1.4 of the Cuban Criminal Code states that conditional release allows a prisoner to see out the remainder of their sentence outside prison provided they demonstrate “good behaviour” (“buena conducta”).
The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is an umbrella group of dissident organizations, based primarily in Santiago de Cuba, but also in neighbouring provinces of eastern Cuba. UNPACU seeks democratic change in Cuba via non-violent means.
Since UNPACU’s creation in mid-2011, its members have faced constant harassment and intimidation form the Cuban authorities, including arbitrary detention. One of UNPACU’s members, prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza died in January 2012 following a hunger strike in protest at his four-year prison sentence following a summary trial. This repression is part of a general crackdown against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba which has gathered pace since mid-2011.
Name: José Daniel Ferrer García
Gender m/f: m
UA: 60/12 Index: AMR 25/005/2012 Issue Date: 23 February 2012
- Unpacu Leader's Houses Assaulted
Dear Sirs and Madams, Please take account on this new Press Release from UNPACU: UNPACU LEADER'S HOUSES ASSAULTED José Daniel Ferrer and Ovidio Martín Castellanos, detained and being held in unknown whereaboutsLink to press release in HTML:...
- Cuba:video/ Testomonies Of Raid Of April 2, 2012
Daughter of former Cuban political prisoner of conscience, JOSE DANIEL FERRER GARCIA, provides a brief description of the violent raid against her home. Ferrer Garcia continues under arrest since April 2, 2012 when he was violently arrested with his...
- Cuban Authorities Prevent Activists From Commemorating Death Of Dissident
Follow us on / Síguenos en / Suivez-nous sur www.facebook.com/Amnesty.International.Caribbean AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 23 February 2012 Cuban authorities prevent activists from commemorating death of dissident Authorities in Cuba...
- Pro-democracy Leaders Warn Of A Possible Wave Of Repression Against The Peaceful Resistance
Two leaders in the peaceful Cuban resistance movement who were released on the week of December 12-18 after being subjected to violent arrests and inhumane prison conditions declared that the Cuban regime is intimidated by the rise and strength of the...
- Activists With Fractures Are Hospitalized After Brutal Attack
CUBA: Activists with fractures hospitalized after brutal attack / URGENT ACTIVISTS WITH FRACTURES ARE HOSPITALIZED AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK LADIES IN WHITE VIOLENTLY REPRESSED AFTER MASS Santiago de Cuba / Palmarito de Cauto / August 7, 2011 Ladies in...