Cuba human-rights activist charges government harassment
Jan. 17 (CWNews.com) - A blind Christian human-rights activist in Cuba has suffered severe harassment over the past few days, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, who will complete a 4-year prison sentence on March 12, believes the harassment is a bid to make him leave the country after his release. 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 basic necessities 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 because he feared for her emotional and physical welfare. Juan Carlos is determined to continue to campaign for human-rights improvements while remaining in Cuba, despite the threats.
Juan Carlos was arrested in March 2002 after staging a protest in a hospital over the mistreatment of a journalist who had been beaten up by the Cuban police. 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 of 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."
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