Cuban man targeted for government criticism

Document - Cuban man targeted for government criticism

UA: 333/12 Index: AMR 25/026/2012 Cuba Date: 15 November 2012

URGENT ACTION

cuban man targeted for government criticism

Government critic Antonio Rodiles has been charged with "resisting
authority". It is believed the charges may be used to punish and prevent
his peaceful criticism of Cuban government policies.

A coordinator of a civil society initiative calling on the government to
ratify international human rights treaties, Antonio Rodiles, has been
charged with "resisting authority" (resistencia). He has been placed in
pre-trial detention (prisión provisional), but no date has been set for
his trial.

Shortly after the arrest of the independent lawyer and journalist
Yaremis Flores on 7 November, Antonio Rodiles, his wife and several
other government critics went to the Department of State Security
headquarters, know as Section 21 (Sección 21) in the neighbourhood of
Marianao in Havana, to enquire after her whereabouts. Before they could
reach the building they were approached by 20 people, all plain-clothed,
as two officials from the Ministry of the Interior looked on. Antonio
Rodiles was reportedly knocked to the ground and pinned down by four
men. Several of the other activists were also manhandled and were forced
into a police vehicle and sent to various police stations around Havana.
All were released by 11 November, except Antonio Rodiles.

The Public Prosecutor's Office (fiscalía) informed Antonio Rodiles' wife
on 14 November that he was being charged with "resisting authority" but
a formal charge document has yet to be issued.

Antonio Rodiles is one of the coordinators of Citizen Demand for Another
Cuba (Demanda Ciudadana Por Otra Cuba), an initiative calling for Cuba
to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as
well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, which the country signed in 2008. Amnesty International believes
the charges against him may be being used to punish and prevent his
peaceful activities as a government critic and is gathering further
information on his case and treatment.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the Cuban authorities to release Antonio Rodiles immediately
and unconditionally if they are unable to substantiate the charges
against him, and to investigate reports that he was ill-treated during
his arrest;

Calling on them to immediately cease the harassment of all other
citizens who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression
and association.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 27 DECEMBER 2012 TO:

�

Head of State and Government

Raúl Castro Ruz

Presidente de la República de Cuba

La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)

Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Attorney General

Dr. Darío Delgado Cura

Fiscal General de la República, �Fiscalía General de la República,
Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, �Centro Habana,

La Habana, Cuba

Salutation: Dear Attorney General

And copies to:

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: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu

Salutation: Your Excellency

�

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date.

URGENT ACTION

cuban man targeted for government criticism
ADditional Information

Journalist Yaremis Flores was held for 48 hours before being released
without charge. During her detention she and was threatened with charges
of "disseminating false information against international peace"
(difusión de noticias falsas contra la paz internacional), which carries
a prison sentence of one to four years, if she continued her work as a
journalist.

Antonio Rodiles has been charged under Article 143 of the Cuban Criminal
Code. This covers the offence of resistencia, which refers to resistance
to public officials carrying out their duties and is often used to deal
with alleged cases of resisting arrest. Article 143 is broad enough to
encompass non-violent forms of resistance; it is sometimes used in ways
that unlawfully restrict freedom of expression.

On 20 June, Citizen Demand for Another Cuba handed in a petition with
500 signatures to the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea
Nacional del Poder Popular) – Cuba's legislative body located in Havana
– calling on the government to ratify the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights. Along with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, these covenants constitute the International Bill of
Rights and are the key international human rights instruments. Since
Cuba's signing of both covenants in 2008, Amnesty International has
called on the authorities to ratify them in order to bring them into
force and begin their implementation.

Antonio Rodiles is also the coordinator of State of SATS (Estado de
SATS), a forum which emerged in July 2010 to encourage debate on social,
cultural and political issues.

Name: Antonio Rodiles

Gender m/f: m


UA: 333/12 Index: AMR 25/026/2012 Issue Date: 15 November 2012

http://amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/026/2012/en/170bffe5-5755-4b42-80d0-6b7df7ad1843/amr250262012en.html