Blind Human Right Activist Severely Harrased in Bid to Make Him Leave Cuba
2006-01-18Christian Solidarity Worldwide
January 17 2006
A prominent blind Christian Human Rights Activist in Cuba has suffered severe harassment over the past few days.
Juan Carlos González Leiva will complete his four year sentence on March 12 and believes the harassment is a bid to make him leave the country after that time.
Juan Carlos, who has spent the last two years of his sentence under house arrest, says the government stops him from going out and denies him basics such as water and electricity. He also says that crowds gather round his house chanting pro-Government slogans and playing loud music at all hours of the day.
His wife Maritza has left Cuba to go into exile in the US as he feared for her emotional and physical well-being. Juan Carlos is determined to continue to campaign for human rights improvements while remaining in Cuba, despite all the threats.
In a letter written on January 14, Juan Carlos describes the mistreatment he has been suffering: "They [the Cuban authorities] prevent me from leaving my house, and I am without food, drinking water, and electricity. We are suffocating from the heat. On occasion, they randomly restore my telephone, but most of the time I remain unable to make contact with the outside world.
"Those surrounding my home pound on my windows and my doors, and they have placed loudspeakers outside with blaring music 24 hours a day that prevents us from sleeping or resting. The mobs that surround my house range from criminals to university students that are brought to shout governmental slogans in aggressive language and obscene words through microphones. These people shout threats at us, saying that they are going to enter the house with military tanks, that they are going to burn all of us up, and that we are antisocial persons at the service of imperialism, among other things.
"They have pushed and savagely beaten many activists, friends, and my family members that have entered, tried to enter, or left my house in our defence...The Cuban government has my father, Agustin Gonzalez, hostage and does not let him leave the country, in spite of the fact that he has a visa to travel to the United States. This is a tactic used to pressure me so that I leave the country as well.
"Mobs of 100-400 people begin these acts of vandalization at dawn and continue until 11 at night. At that time, police and State Security agents surround my house. This is repeated daily to the rhythm of deafening music."
Juan Carlos was arrested in March 2002 after staging a protest in a hospital at the mistreatment of a journalist who had been beaten up by the Cuban police. The rapid response unit of the security forces arrived after an hour and attacked him and nine others for their peaceful protest. Juan Carlos was badly beaten before he was arrested and needed four stitches for a blow on the head.
He was imprisoned without trial for two years before being sentenced in April 2004 to four years house arrest after a summary trial. He was convicted of 'disrespect against the Head of State' along with other charges of 'public disorder, disobedience, and resisting authority'.
Stuart Windsor, CSW's National Director, said: "The Cuban authorities' mistreatment of this courageous human rights activist should outrage the international community. He has already suffered years of mistreatment in prison and as his sentence nears an end, he is being severely harassed in a bid to make him leave the country. CSW continues to stand by Juan Carlos in his determination to speak up for improved human rights in Cuba and calls on the Cuban government to stop harassing him and his family."
For more information, please contact Richard Chilvers, Communications Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8329 0045 or email richard.chilvers@csw.org.u or visit www.csw.org.uk
CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.
2006-01-18Christian Solidarity Worldwide
January 17 2006
A prominent blind Christian Human Rights Activist in Cuba has suffered severe harassment over the past few days.
Juan Carlos González Leiva will complete his four year sentence on March 12 and believes the harassment is a bid to make him leave the country after that time.
Juan Carlos, who has spent the last two years of his sentence under house arrest, says the government stops him from going out and denies him basics such as water and electricity. He also says that crowds gather round his house chanting pro-Government slogans and playing loud music at all hours of the day.
His wife Maritza has left Cuba to go into exile in the US as he feared for her emotional and physical well-being. Juan Carlos is determined to continue to campaign for human rights improvements while remaining in Cuba, despite all the threats.
In a letter written on January 14, Juan Carlos describes the mistreatment he has been suffering: "They [the Cuban authorities] prevent me from leaving my house, and I am without food, drinking water, and electricity. We are suffocating from the heat. On occasion, they randomly restore my telephone, but most of the time I remain unable to make contact with the outside world.
"Those surrounding my home pound on my windows and my doors, and they have placed loudspeakers outside with blaring music 24 hours a day that prevents us from sleeping or resting. The mobs that surround my house range from criminals to university students that are brought to shout governmental slogans in aggressive language and obscene words through microphones. These people shout threats at us, saying that they are going to enter the house with military tanks, that they are going to burn all of us up, and that we are antisocial persons at the service of imperialism, among other things.
"They have pushed and savagely beaten many activists, friends, and my family members that have entered, tried to enter, or left my house in our defence...The Cuban government has my father, Agustin Gonzalez, hostage and does not let him leave the country, in spite of the fact that he has a visa to travel to the United States. This is a tactic used to pressure me so that I leave the country as well.
"Mobs of 100-400 people begin these acts of vandalization at dawn and continue until 11 at night. At that time, police and State Security agents surround my house. This is repeated daily to the rhythm of deafening music."
Juan Carlos was arrested in March 2002 after staging a protest in a hospital at the mistreatment of a journalist who had been beaten up by the Cuban police. The rapid response unit of the security forces arrived after an hour and attacked him and nine others for their peaceful protest. Juan Carlos was badly beaten before he was arrested and needed four stitches for a blow on the head.
He was imprisoned without trial for two years before being sentenced in April 2004 to four years house arrest after a summary trial. He was convicted of 'disrespect against the Head of State' along with other charges of 'public disorder, disobedience, and resisting authority'.
Stuart Windsor, CSW's National Director, said: "The Cuban authorities' mistreatment of this courageous human rights activist should outrage the international community. He has already suffered years of mistreatment in prison and as his sentence nears an end, he is being severely harassed in a bid to make him leave the country. CSW continues to stand by Juan Carlos in his determination to speak up for improved human rights in Cuba and calls on the Cuban government to stop harassing him and his family."
For more information, please contact Richard Chilvers, Communications Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8329 0045 or email richard.chilvers@csw.org.u or visit www.csw.org.uk
CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.
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