SUNRISE IN HAVANA: Political prisoner

Showing posts with label Political prisoner. Show all posts

Thursday, March 29, 2012

We are not going to heal you because you are a Black Counter-Revolutionary

Bertha Antunez Pertet, talks about racism in Cuba at the hands of the communist. She recalls how in 93 when her brother dissident Jose Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez) was in prison for political reasons, he endured additional mistreatment and humiliation due to the color of his skin and she recalls a horrible incident, that seems like something right out of 19th century Spanish colonialism, where her brother's jailers incited some dogs to attack him and they destroyed parts of his body, but he was refused medical care and was told......____"We are not going to heal you, because you are a black counter-revolutionary".

Nowadays, Antunez is out of prison, but lives in Cuba and in his own way he is a free man. He is an outspoken critic of the Castro Regime and twitters and blogs for freedom. He calls his blogs "Ni me Callo ni me Voy", which means, I will not be Silent and I will not Leave.

Racism is and has been evident from the early days of the communist revolution and even before the bearded men came down from the hills of Sierra Maestra in 1959. The communists want the world to believe that they are for equality, but the reality is very different and in a crowd the black man with be the first to be asked for his identity papers and racial slurs during arrests of dissidents or none dissident is common practice and if they are unlucky enough to end up in prison-they always get the worse treatment.

Interviewed March 2011

Bertha Antúnez Pernet was born in 1959 to a family of limited means. She began to become politically aware in 1990 when her brother, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (“Antúnez”), was unjustly charged with “enemy propaganda” for saying in a public square that Cuba should experience the same political changes that were taking place in Eastern Europe. He was incarcerated and then charged with additional political offenses during his confinement, which extended his sentence until 2007.

Antúnez Pernet became increasingly aware of the gravity of the human rights situation in Cuba through visiting her brother in prison and learning about the conditions to which he and other prisoners of conscience were subjected.

In 1997, Antúnez Pernet and other family members of political prisoners founded an organization called the National Movement of Civic Resistance Pedro Luis Boitel to fight ill-treatment in prison. By 1999, the movement had collected over 5,000 signatures for a general amnesty of political prisoners in Cuba. It has also carried out protests in front of various prisons throughout the island.

Source:

The Freedom Collection

Monday, March 15, 2010

Two More Cuban Political Prisoners Taken to Hospitals

Orlando Fundora Álvarez, member of the group of 75, from the black spring arrests in 2003, who had been on hunger strike since March 10, has been transported to Alta Habana hospital. This has been confirmed by his son Victoriano Simil Triana.

Cuban political prisoner Eduardo Díaz Fleitas was hospitalized today, suffering the effects of a fast he started to commemorate this week's seventh anniversary of the "black spring" crackdown, according to the online magazine Convivencia's Twitter feed.

Díaz, who in 2003 was sentenced to 21 years in prison, was being treated for dehydration and hypoglycemia.

Late last month and earlier this month, Díaz was one of several political prisoners who went on hunger strike after the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo. They called off the protest after supporters expressed concern about their health.

Eduardo Díaz Fleitas
Fuentes-Uncommon SenceCuba Noticias Disidentes

Posted by Marc R. Masferrer on March 15, 2010 at 11:02 PM in Cuba, C

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Six Cuba political prisoners plan fast to mark "black spring" anniversary

Six Cuban political prisoners this week called on the world to join them in fast and prayer from March 12 to March 31 to mark the seventh anniversary of the "black spring" crackdown, which concluded with their imprisonment.

In a statement, the prisoners say their demonstration is not for themselves but for all of Cuba. Their hope, their faith is that by joining together in common cause and common action, the day of Cuba's freedom will be nearer.

The six prisoners are:

Oscar Biscet González

Julio Gálvez Rodríguez

Ricardo González Alfonso

Normando Hernández González

Régis Iglesias Ramírez

AngelMoya Acosta

Two Cuban dissidents released from jail

Two Cuban dissidents have been released from jail after completing their prison terms, according to reports posted at Payo Libre:

Deisy Talavera López, a member of the Marta Abreu Feminist Movement, was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison in 2008 on charges of "attacking" and "disrespect" after she posted on the door of her home a poster expressing support for Cuban political prisoner. Talavera, 39, was released from prison on Feb. 26.
Ramón Velázquez Toranzo, an independent journalist, was released Jan. 19, after serving a three-year term for "social dangerousness." Velázquez, 54, was imprisoned after attempting along with his family to walk across Cuba to denounce the Castro dictatorship's human rights record and to show support for the country's political prisoners.
Sources-(Payo Libre)
(Uncommon Sence)