Monday, 25 December 2006 (9 hours ago)
By BosNewsLife News Center
Pastor Carlos Lamelas free, for now...
HAVANA, CUBA (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical pastor Joel Rojas of Holguin
was believed in custody Monday, Christmas Day, after he was convicted of
"human trafficking" by helping Cubans flee the country.
He was reportedly sentenced to seven years in prison by the and it was
unclear what legal options, if any, there were for the church leader
after the December 13 verdict by The Seventh Penal Court of the
Provincial Peoples Tribunal in Havana.
Another Cuban evangelical pastor, Carlos Lamelas, was acquitted on the
"human trafficking" charge, but convicted on previously unannounced
charges of falsification of documents, BosNewsLife monitored Monday,
December 25.
He allegedly signed a letter certifying that Lazaro Leonardo Laza was an
accredited worker of the Church of God "without making some kind of
verification."
LEAVING CUBA
In Laza tried to use that letter to leave Cuba, the court reportedly
alleged. Judges imposed a fine of 1,000 Cuban pesos ($45) on the pastor
and former national president of the Church of God in Cuba for the new
charges.
His co-defendant in the trafficking case, evangelical pastor Joel Rojas
of Holguin, was apparently convicted of trying to help Laza flee the
country and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Lamelas is considering appealing the sentence. He has resisted
government interference in church affairs, and refused to sign a pledge
to the government since he became president of his denomination's
general assembly in 2004.
LAMELAS ARRESTED
After two detentions, Lamelas was arrested in February after police
searched his home, confiscating his computer and office equipment. He
spent four months in jail and was anxiously awaiting the outcome of the
trial.
"Even though this (sentence) is favorable, we are not satisfied,"
Lamelas said in published remarks.
Experts say the case illustrates the pressure on religious leaders to
cooperate with Cuba's Council of Churches, a coalition of Protestant
denominations close to the government.
UNLICENSED CHURCHES
Cuba closes unlicensed churches nationwide, church groups say pastors
are being singled out for harassment. Last year, Pastor Manuel Jesus
Rosado Arencibia, of Remanente de Dios church in Matanzas, was jailed
after distributing evangelical leaflets, The Miami Herald newspaper
reported.
Recently a Roman Catholic Church layman, an agronomist who edits the
religious magazine Vitra running articles that criticize the government,
lost his job as president of a state tobacco company when he refused a
government plea to give up the magazine.
He now spends eight hours a day in a shed, guarding palm tree stalks
used to make cigar boxes, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
The Cuban government was officially atheist until 1992, but it remains a
Communist nation.
http://www.bosnewslife.com/news/2652-cuba-evangelical-pastor-remains-in-prison
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