21 October 1997
Further information on EXTRA 139/97 issued 17 October 1997
Prisoners of Conscience / Possible POCs / Legal Concern
CUBA
Ricardo GONZALEZ ALFONSO (male), journalist
Daula CARPIO MATA (female), member of the unofficial Partido Pro Derechos Humanos en Cuba (PPDHC), Party for Human Rights in Cuba
Jenny Julia GODOY CARPIO (female), 15, Daula Carpio Mata's daughter
Maria Felicia MATA MACHADO (female), 54, Daula Carpio Mata's mother
Roxanna CARPIO MATA (female), Daula Carpio Mata's sister
Ileana PENALVER DUQUE (female)
Vicente GARCIA RAMOS (male)
Guillermo FARINAS CABEZAS [note correction of name] (male)
Lilian MENESES MARTINEZ (female)
Ivan LEMA ROMERO [note correction of name] (male)
Jose Antonio ALVARADO ALMEIDA (male)
Jose Miguel LLERA BENITEZ (male)
Danilo SANTOS MENDEZ (male)
Arelis FLEITES MENDEZ [note correction of name] (male)
Journalist Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso was released without charge on the afternoon of 18 October. Following his arrest at his Havana home on 16 October, he was taken to a police station known as Territorial Siboney in Playa, Havana. On release, he said that he had not been ill-treated or questioned but simply warned that if he did not give up writing reports for the independent press agency Cuba Press, he would have to choose between imprisonment and exile. He said that, while in the police station, he refused to eat in protest at the fact that his detention was carried out without an arrest warrant. He reportedly shared a cell with five others and the first night had to sleep on the floor because there were only four bunks.
Seven of the 12 members of the unofficial Partido Pro Derechos Humanos en Cuba (PPDHC), Party for Human Rights in Cuba, who were arrested in Santa Clara on 14 October after going on hunger-strike in protest at the arrest on 9 October of PPDHC member Daula Carpio Mata, have also been released. Six were released on 18 October:
Maria Felicia Mata Machado, Jose Antonio Alvarado Almeida, Lilian Meneses Martinez, Ileana Penalver Duque, Arelis Fleites Mendez and Guillermo Farinas Cabezas. On 20 October, 15- year-old Jenny Julia Godoy Carpio, who had reportedly continued her fast while held in a minors' detention centre, was released after agreeing to come off hunger-strike. The six released on 18 October are reportedly facing trial on various charges, including attacking state security [atentado contra la seguridad del Estado], enemy propaganda, associating with others to commit a crime [asociacion para delinquir] and attacking international peace [atentado contra la paz internacional]. Unofficial reports indicate that the trial may take place within the next 10 days. While in detention, the six reportedly refused to sign official documents acknowledging the charges. Five others remain in detention - Roxana Alina Carpio Mata, Danilo Santo Mendez, Jose Miguel Llera Benitez, Vicente Garcia Ramos and Ivan Lema Romero - and are believed to be under investigation on similar charges.
Daula Carpio Mata, who is the provincial delegate of the PPDHC for Villa Clara province, was detained on 9 October and is imprisoned in Guamajal Women's Prison. She is reportedly facing imminent trial on a charge of verbally intimidating a prison doctor. Amnesty International is seeking further information about the basis for the charges against her and the other PPDHC members. The organization believes that the charges may have been brought against them as punishment for their peaceful and legitimate political activities and that they may therefore be prisoners of conscience.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/ airmail letters:
welcoming the release without charge of Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso but urging that he be permitted to continue his legitimate peaceful work as a journalist;
welcoming the release of the seven PPDHC members, but noting reports that the adults and some or all of the five who remain in detention are reportedly facing imminent trial on several charges; - requesting further information about the basis for the charges and expressing concern that they may have been arrested solely on account of their peaceful political activities; - requesting that all those still in detention, including Daula Carpio Mata, be permitted immediate access to a lawyer of their choice, as well as family visits and any necessary medical attention.
APPEALS TO:
1) Minister of the Interior:
General Abelardo Colome Ibarra
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior
Plaza de la Revolucion
La Habana, Cuba
Dear Minister:
Faxes: 011 53 7 33 5261 (attn: Ministro del Interior)
Telegrams: Ministro Interior, Havana, Cuba
2) Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Sr Roberto Robaina Gonzalez
Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
Calzada No. 360
Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
Dear Minister:
Telegrams: Ministro Relaciones Exteriores, Havana, Cuba
Telexes: 307 511122 / 307 511464 / 307 512950
Faxes: 011 53 7 333085 / 011 53 7 333460
3) Attorney-General:
Dr Juan Escalona Reguera
Fiscal General de la Republica
Fiscalia General de la Republica
San Rafael 3, La Habana, Cuba
Dear Attorney General:
Telegrams: Fiscal General, Havana, Cuba
Telexes: 307 511456 fisge
COPIES TO:
Cuban Journalists Union (official body)
Union de Periodistas de Cuba
Calle 23 No. 452, Apartado 6646
Vedado, Havana, Cuba
Editor of Granma (daily newspaper)
Sr Jacinto Granda de Laserna
Granma, Apdo 6260
La Habana, Cuba
Cuba has no embassy in the US at present.
to contact its interest in the US, write
Cuban Interests Section
Mr. Fernando Remirez de Estenoz
2630 - 16th St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after November 21, 1997.