UNPACU – Patriotic Union of Cuba – Page 4

José Daniel Ferrer Arrested To Prevent His Participation In Forum #Otro18 / 14ymedio

Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, 8 March 2016 — According to various opposition sources, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Jose Daniel Ferrer, was arrested Tuesday in Havana with two other activists. The former prisoner of the Black Spring was going to to participate on Wednesday in a forum convened for the Otro 18 (Another 2018) campaign, that seeks an electoral solution of the current system.

Ferrer had been in the capital since last Sunday and at the time of his arrest was with the dissident Rafael Alba Macias, and Iliana Hernandez, a member of the group Somos+ (We Are More), who were also arrested. The latter, who resides abroad, was was released five hours later, as confirmed by this newspaper. continue reading

Ferrer’s arrest coincided with the arrest of Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White, who was arrested on Tuesday morning to prevent her from attending the trial of activist Jaquelín Heredia Morales, detained since Sunday 28 February, after participating in the Ladies in White customary Sunday march on 5^th Avenue in Havana’s Miramar district; she has been charged with contempt.

The US government reacted to the arrests and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson wrote in her Twitter account that she was “Very concerned by reports that the Cuban gov has detailed @jdanielferrer & @bertasoler #Cuba#DDHH”.

The arrests come less than two weeks after the visit to the island by US President Barack Obama, who will arrive on March 21.

Tribute To Orlando Zapata Leads To Dozens Of Arrests / 14ymedio

Activists of the Patriotic Union of Cuba marched this Sunday despite the arrests. (UNPACU)

14ymedio, Havana, 21 February 2016 — The events organized on Sunday to remember the late activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo resulted in dozens of opposition members arrested throughout the country. Several civil society organizations had also called for a tribute to honor the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots on the twentieth anniversary of their death at the hands of the Cuban Air Force.

Zapata Tamayo died on 23 February 2010 after a prolonged hunger strike to protest his prison conditions. The death of the dissident led to a wave of indignation in Cuban civil society and strong pronouncements from international bodies devoted to respect for human rights. continue reading

The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) confirmed to this newspaper the arrests of 134 of its members. The arrests occurred when opponents tried to “reach Catholic Churches to attend mass, from Guantanamo to Camaguey, as part of the actions within the We All March Campaign,” according to a statement from UNPACU.

In Havana about 37 Ladies in White managed to walk down 5th Avenue, supported by 34 activists. At least seven women were prevented from reaching the place, in the west of Havana.

“Fifty members of the Interior Ministry, some dressed in olive green uniforms and others in police uniforms, overpowered the protesters at the scene,” the blogger Agustín López Canino told 14ymedio at the scene. In his report, the activist added that those arrested were being put into “paddy wagons and taken to detention centers.”

Also present were “civilians” of the rapid response brigades who shouted pro-government slogans against the dissidents.

Ladies In White Pay Tribute To Laura Pollan / 14ymedio

Ladies in White paid tribute to the 68th anniversary of the birth of Laura Pollan. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 14 February 2016 — Several groups of Cuban activists paid tribute on Sunday to Laura Pollan, the late leader of the Ladies in White. The weekly pilgrimage of the human rights movement along 5th Avenue in Havana honored the 68th anniversary of the birth of the late founder and leading figure in the women’s group.

At least 37 women made it to the parish of Santa Rita, in the neighborhood of Miramar and joined in the march. Another 15 activists from various organizations were also represented at the site to support the opposition, as confirmed by this newspaper. continue reading

Pollan was born on February 13, 1948. She worked as a teacher and began her civic activism at the time of the Black Spring of 2013, when her husband Hector Maseda was convicted and sent to prison. She led the Ladies in White dissident movement until her death in October 2011.

In 2014, a group headed by her daughter, Laura Labrada, separated from the Ladies in White and formed the Laura Pollan Ladies in White Civic Movement.

At the conclusion of the march this Sunday in Havana, the women met, as is traditional, in Gandhi Park. As they left the park they were violently arrested and taken to the Tarara Police Station, east of Havana, according to reports to 14ymedio from activists.

Also on Sunday, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) denounced the arrest of 83 of its members, most of them while trying to get to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre in Santiago de Cuba.

#Otro18 Civic Platform Will Hold Forum On Citizenship And Multi-Party Voting / 14ymedio

The logo of the Civic Platform #Otro18 (Another 2018)

14ymedio, Havana, 10 February 2016 – The group that manages the #Otro18 (Another 2018) Civic Platform has convened its first forum in early March in Cuba, under the slogan Citizenship Revisited, Multi-party Voting. Proposals ranging from reforms to the electoral law to a new law on associations will be presented at the meeting. Participants will include representatives from some 45 independent groups involved in the campaign, according to a statement from its organizers.

Participation in the Forum will be free and international experts on electoral and freedom of association issues have been invited as observers, along with representatives of the diplomatic corps. In the next few days a press conference will be held to define the agenda, date and place of the meeting. Since the Cuban government announced its intention to draft a new electoral law, different political and civil society actors have been encouraging the idea of gathering proposals from the public, with all the diversity and plurality of Cuban society.

Cubalex, an organization of independent lawyers, led the initial technical phase of this campaign in collaboration with lawyers from the Cuban Law Association and other institutions.

Political activists of various organizations such as the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), the United Anti-totalitarian Forum, Somos+ (We Are More), Independent and Democratic Cuba, Cuban Solidarity Liberal Party, Liberal Party of Cuba (Azules), and the Center for Support of the Transition and Progressive Arc, as well as independent journalists, and community, civic and human rights activists, along with independent actors, participated in intense days both within and outside of Cuba.

With this event, #Otro18 completes the initial technical part in the first stage of its project, and initiates the policy and strong social and civic advocacy phase, ahead of the proposed reforms to the electoral law and the law of associations.

Jose Daniel Ferrer Arrested And Beaten In Santiago De Cuba / 14ymedio

Ladies in White outside of the parish of Santa Rita in Havana. (Angel Moya)

14ymedio, Havana, 25 January 2016 — Cuban activists have again experienced a repressive Sunday with the arrest of more than a hundred opponents throughout the island. The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Jose Daniel Ferrer, was violently arrested in Santiago Cuba, according to sources in his organization.

About 130 members of the UNPACU and the Ladies in White movement were arrested in the eastern province while trying to reach the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre. Police and special forces intercepted them at various points along the busy road to the church, said the national coordinator of the organization, Yriade Hernández Aguilera. continue reading

The testimony of Santiago activists said that the UNPACU leader’s arrest occurred at 7:40 am Pajuil, a place of the road to El Cobre where police often set uptheir checkpoint. Opponents say they were surrounded by more than 35 troops, which threw him down and after he was immobilized on the ground they kicked him.

Ferrer and the other members of the organization arrested in the morning were released shortly afterwards.

In Havana, 70 people, including activists and Ladies in White, made it to the parish of Santa Rita in the neighborhood of Miramar. Angel Moya, a former prisoner of the Black Spring, denounced the previous arrest of 12 women in the organization, to prevent them from reaching the site.

In its summary for last year, the independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported that “political repression increased steadily throughout 2015 from 178 cases in January to figures in the vicinity of 1000 arrests by year’s end.”

Three Members of Cuban Opposition Released After Three Months’ Detention / 14ymedio

Hugo Damian Prieto and his wife, a few hours after being released. (Angel Moya)

14ymedio, Havana, 21 January 2016 – Released on Wednesday, after three months detention, were two members of the Cuban opposition: Hugo Damián Prieto Blanco, leader of the Orlando Zapata Tamayo Front for Civic Action, and Wilberto Parada Milan, a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), according to reports to this newspaper from opposition sources. Also released on Thursday morning was the opponent Carlos Manuel Figueroa, who was arrested after jumping the fence of the US embassy in Havana last October. According to dissident sources, the activist shouted slogans at the time: “Down with Raul” and “Down with the dictatorship.”

Figueroa was a part of the group of 53 political prisoners released in January 2015 after negotiations between Washington and Havana, according to a report at the time from Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN). continue reading

Hugo Damián Prieto Blanco and Wilberto Parada Milan were arrested on 24 October 2015, two days after holding a protest against the Attorney General of the Republic through which they demanded the release of Maria Josefa Acón, Zaqueo Baez and Ishmael Reni, the three activists jailed for approaching Pope Francis before Mass in the Plaza of the Revolution on 20 September of last year

The opponents were charged with disorderly conduct and sent to prison pending trial. The first has been held in Valle Grande and the second in the Combinado del Este in Havana.

After his release, Hugo Damian Prieto and his wife visited the headquarters of the Ladies in White in Havana’s Lawton neighborhood, according to former prisoner of the Black Spring, Angel Moya.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported the arbitrary detention of the two opponents in their last three reports and condemned it for going “against the well-known expectations encouraged by the announcement of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States.”

According to the independent organization, “political repression increased steadily throughout 2015 from 178 cases in January to figures in the vicinity of 1,000 arrests by year’s end.”

Police Warn Eliecer Avila That Somos+ Convention Will Not be Allowed / 14ymedio

The police enter the home of Eliecer Avila to arrest him.

14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2016 – The repressive actions against the Cuban opposition were repeated this Sunday across the country. It is estimated that more than 200 activists were arrested, according to independent reports. The police also arrested Eliecer Avila, the leader of the Somos+ (We Are More) Movement, and warned him that they would not allow the annual convention of his organization, planned for 14 January, to be held.

In Havana, the Ladies in White marched as they do every Sunday on Fifth Avenue, in the west of the capital city, accompanied on this occasion by two dozen activists. At the end of the pilgrimage they were violently arrested, according to testimony from witnesses at the scene. continue reading

In the east of the country, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) reported dozens of arrests of its members when they tried to reach the sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba. The general coordinator of the organization, Jose Daniel Ferrer, had warned that they would be “protesting the assaults by the repressive forces to stop activities for children.”

Several dissident groups suffered searches of their homes and confiscations associated with 6 January, the Day of the Three Kings – a day before the Revolution when Cuban children received gifts for Christmas. Toys, treats and audio equipment were seized by the police in different areas of the country to avoid the celebrations organized by activists for children in their neighborhoods.

Number Of Political Arrests In Cuba Doubles From Dec. 2014 / 14ymedio

A member of the Ladies in White is arrested by police on Thursday, 10 December 10, in Havana. (Photo EFE)

14ymedio, Havana, 4 January 2015 — The number of political arrests in the month of December in Cuba was almost twice that of December 2014, from 489 increasing to 930, according to the monthly report issued by the Cuban the National Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN).

The number represents a significant decrease from November, when there were at least 1,447 arrests. However, that figure was the highest in years, according to information from the CCDHRN, which reported December was the third worst month of the year, after the two months preceding it (there were 1,093 political arrests in October).

The CCDHRN is particularly concerned because five former political prisoners – released as a part of the negotiations between the Cuban and United States governments that led to the reestablishment of relations – were newly arrested and being held in high security prisons. These prisoners are

Wilfredo Parada Milian, Jorge Ramirez Calderon, Carlos Manuel Figueroa, Aracelio Ribeaux Noa and Vladimir Morera Bacallao, who was on a hunger strike between 9 October and the end of the year. The five have been imprisoned in “rigged processes without due process,” according to the organization led by Elizardo Sanchez.

Once again, the groups most affected by repression, the report denounced, are the Ladies in White and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), who “apart from physical violence and all kinds of humiliations” suffered “acts of vandalism and the extrajudicial confiscation of toys intended to be distributed to poor children, computers, cellphones and other work tools acquired legally, as well as cash taken from many of the opponents who were arrested.”

The CCDHRN expressed despair because despite the expectations created by the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US, “political repression increased steadily throughout 2015.” In addition, the report denounced that poverty has continued to grow, which has motivated, in the opinion of the organization, the migratory crisis of those “trying to escape Cuba by any means, including illegal emigration at the price of human suffering.”

Jose Daniel Ferrer Barred from Havana and Warned He Could Return to Prison / 14ymedio

Jose Daniel Ferrer, executive secretary of UNPACU.

14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2015 — The leader of the National Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Jose Daniel Ferrer, was deported to Santiago de Cuba by order of a Havana judge who warned him that he could return to prison to serve his sentence (25 years) if tried to leave his province again. The opponent has been on parole since 2011, the year he was released, after being convicted during the Black Spring of 2003.

Ferrer was arrested Thursday morning, the 17^th, at the headquarters of the organization in the capital and taken to the police station on Acosta street. continue reading

The detainee told 14ymedio by telephone that after remaining there until noon, man who called himself Vicente Rodríguez Hernández appeared, accompanied by a lieutenant colonel of the Interior Ministry (MININT).. “He came dressed in a judge’s robe and carrying numerous documents. When asked to identify himself as a judge, the man said he had forgotten his identity card, but in ay event he did not have to show it to me.”

The presumed judge informed the opposition leader that, according to the law, he is subject to the regulations of parole and cannot leave his province nor file for residence outside Santiago de Cuba, without court authorization. He added that if he violated these measures, he could return to prison.

Ferrer said that he told him, “Save yourself the explanation and take me to jail now, because that is an order I will not obey.” He continued, “They would not give me a copy of the documents they read from, so I refused to sign anything.”

The “court session” was filmed at all times by a man in uniform, and his captors told him that the recording would be proof that he had been duly warned.

At 3 pm, Jose Daniel Ferrer was taken in a van, escorted by two policemen, to the eastern provinces. They spent the night in Las Tunas and at approximately 11:30 am on Friday he was left in the city of Santiago de Cuba.

State Security is Outside 14ymedio’s Newsroom / 14ymedio

A member of the Ladies in White is arrested in 10 December 2015 by the Political Police in Havana (EFE)

14ymedio, Havana, 10 December 2015 – State Security agents who introduced themselves as members of counterintelligence are outside 14ymedio’s newsroom right now to keep our reporters from covering the events of Human Rights Day, celebrated this Thursday.

Several neighbors sounded the alert when, from the early hours of the morning, they saw two men sitting on the stairs that lead to the 14^th floor, where the newsroom is located. The subjects, dressed in civilian clothes with earpieces in their right ears, have stayed there since dawn, controlling everyone who ascends or descends the last floor of the building. continue reading

Yesterday, Wednesday, several groups of activists denounced the arrests and searches throughout the country. The executive secretary of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), José Daniel Ferrer, reported the arrest of 12 members of that organization in Camagüey, and that of the cell coordinator Roberto Ferrer in Havana. The activist reported an operation in front of the UNPACU headquarters and a Communist Party fair “with repressive purposes” outside the national headquarters of the Ladies in White in Lawton.

The dissident and blogger Agustin Lopez also announced that he will repeat his action of last year, consisting of distributing sheets with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a central location in the capital.

The situation against 14ymedio is a repeat for the second consecutive. On December 10, 2014 a strong police operation was maintained around the newsroom and, in addition, two reporters from this paper were arrested, Luz Escobar and Victor Ariel Gonzalez.

On Thursday, when the editor-in-chief of this newspaper, Reinaldo Escobar, tried to get to the elevator to go outside, the following exchange occurred with the two guards:

– Hey, Reinaldo, we are with CI and we are warning you, you are not going out today

– What is CI?

– Don’t be silly you know.

– Constructors Integrated?

– No, State Security.

– But the acronyms for State Security are others, the one I know is SE.

– It is the same.

– No, it’s not the same, and beware lest the weight of the law fall on you for passing yourselves off as a being from an organization that you aren’t.

– Well, the most important thing here is that you are not going out.

– And why?

– Because today is Human Rights Day and you know it.

– Do you have a warrant or any paper that you can show me where it says that?

– No, but you are not going out.

– Well, you’ll have to stay here until midnight … because I’m going out at some point.

– You’re not going to leave, that we assure you.

A man reads, in front of a newsstand, a printed version of '14ymedio', distributed alternately. — A man reads, in front of a newsstand, a printed version of ’14ymedio’, distributed alternately.

Searches And Arrests On The Eve Of Human Rights Day / 14ymedio

Ladies in White arrested in Havana on Human Rights Day 2014.

14ymedio, Havana, 9 December 2015 – In the morning hours on Wednesday, the political police undertook a thorough search of the Patriot Union of Cuba (UNPACU) headquarters in the Playa district of Havana. A portable computer and other belongings were seized, a few hours before the start of activities for Human Rights Day.

The owner of the home and activist of the organization, Arcelio Rafael Molina, told 14ymedio that “at approximately 7 in the morning the police started knocking” on his door and showed him a search warrant. After taking the laptop, “a piece of equipment to improve the wifi signal, that we use to send email,” and printed documents, “they did not leave a list of the seized items,” the homeowner said.

Molina is sure they took the signed copies of “the complaints that had been filed with the national leadership of the Police and other authorities, regarding a similar search,” last October. continue reading

During the operation, Jorge Cervantes Garcia and Andro Ross were arrested; both are members of the UNPACU in Santiago de Cuba and they were in the home at the time. To date their whereabouts are unknown.

Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White, denounced that in the town of Esmeralda in Ciego de Avila province, the Lady in White Yarleni Sanchez was arrested on her way to a medical clinic. The police arrested her because they assumed she was on her way to Havana to participate in the demonstration planned for Thursday at 23^rd and L in Vedado, to mark Human Rights Day.

Other Ladies in White, Julia Herrera and Nieves Caridad Matamoros, have reported having their houses surrounded to prevent their going out in response to the call to demonstrate. For the same reason the police detained Pavel Herrera, a member of the opposition movement For a New Republic, at 6.30 in the morning, and Rolando Reyes Rabanat, who was taken from his home this morning.

Police Raid UNPACU’s Children’s Party / 14ymedio

The house in Palma Soriano where police raided UNPACU’s children’s party on Sunday. (Twitter)

14ymedio, Havana, 6 December 2015 – Police officers raided a house in Palma Soriano in the city of Santiago this Sunday, where the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) was holding a children’s party. At the time of the assault there were “nearly 40 children” in the house, according to José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the dissident organization.

However, the activist Yusmila Reyna confirmed that the children’s party continues, “despite the assault by specially armed troops.” According to the independent journalist, the residents of Palma Soriano “are losing their fear” and several neighbors approached the house to show their solidarity.

Like every Sunday, dozens of dissidents were arrested in different parts of the country. UNPACU said that at least 140 of is members were detained in the East.

In Havana, the Ladies in White walked down Fifth Avenue in Miramar, and met at Gandhi Park with other activists. They were under a strict police cordon before being arrested and taken to detention centers, according to regime opponent Angel Moya.

In its latest report, the dissident Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported 1,447 political arrests during the month of November, the highest in years, according to the organization.

Cuban Human Rights Group Denounces Record Number Of Political Arrests In November / EFE (Via 14ymedio)

Ladies in White and activists gathered at Gandhi Park. (Angel Moya)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 3 December 2015 — The dissident Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported Thursday that there were at least 1,447 political arrests in Cuba in November, the highest figure this year says opposition group says.

The monthly report issued by this organization, led by activist Elizardo Sanchez said that the repressive activity has been “remarkable,” especially against the women’s opposition group The Ladies in White, and those who “dare to accompany them” every Sunday on their usual walk. continue reading

On every one of these occasions, the activists and their companions are “brutally beaten and subjected to all kinds of humiliation” on being arrested by the “secret political police” at the end of the Sunday Mass they attend at Santa Rita Catholic Church in the Havana neighborhood of Miramar, according to the report.

The CCDHRN says that the Cuban regime responds “with every more increasing fury” against those who “are only demanding the release of the political prisoners and the respect for civil rights and other fundamental rights. ”

According to data from this dissident group, the repressive actions take place in all regions of the island, especially in the eastern and central provinces, where the opposition group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) continues to be a “priority target.”

In its report, the CCDHRN accuses the Cuban government of “perfecting and enlarging its machinery of repression, propaganda and intimidation.”

The report also blames the government of the island for the “tragedy” being experienced by some 4,000 Cubans stranded on the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua in their quest to reach the United States “for being most responsible for the rising poverty and hopelessness that oppress the Cuban people. ”

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation is the only group on the island which records and publishes the numbers of these incidents in Cuba.

More Than 250 Activists Arrested Sunday / 14ymedio

Ladies in White during their traditional Sunday march down Fifth Avenue in Havana. The banner shows Laura Pollán, a co-founder of the organization whose death has never been adequately explained (Angel Moya)

14ymedio, 29 November 2015 — The number of activists arrested this Sunday exceeded 250 people across the island, as several sources from the Cuban opposition confirmed to this newspaper. The largest number of arrests occurred in the east of the country, where dozens of members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) tried to reach the Sanctuary of Cobre and were intercepted on the way.

In Havana, before the traditional Sunday march down Fifth Avenue, 38 Ladies in White and 45 activists from various movements gathered at Gandhi Park, along with at least a score of foreign visitors, according to several witnesses at the scene and as later confirmed to this newspaper by the dissident Martha Beatriz Roque.

At the conclusion of the walk, the activists were surrounded by police and shock troops in civilian dress who forced them onto several buses. UNPACU member Zaqueo Baez also denounced an arrest with violence by the police. As usual every Sunday, opponents were taken to detention centers. In the afternoon they began to be released.

In the town of Colón, Matanzas, freelance reporter Ivan Hernandez Carrillo reported a strong police operation around the parish where eight Ladies in White attended the Mass, but said no arrests were made.

Three Activists Arrested During Visit of Pope Francis Are Released / 14ymedio

Activists arrested during Pope Francis’s Mass in the Plaza of the Revolution (frame of a video)

14ymedio, Havana, 9 November 2015 – This Monday afternoon the three activists arrested during Pope Francis’s visit were released. Zaqueo Baez Guerrero and Ismael Bonet, members of the Patriot Union of Cuba (UNPACU), and the Lady in White Maria Josefa Acon Sardina, were released pending trial as corroborated by 14ymedio in a telephone call from one of those released.

For nearly 50 days, the three dissidents had been held at the police station known as 100 y Aldabó in Havana, for approaching the bBishop of Rome on his arrival at the Plaza of the Revolution in the capital, on 20 September.

Within hours of the arrest, Baez managed to communicate with the leader of his organization, Jose Daniel Ferrer, who told the press: “Zaqueo told me that he managed to make it to where the Pope was and to tell him the truth and to shout ‘Freedom!’.”

During the first days of imprisonment, two of the regime opponents went on a hunger strike, but later they ceased to fast. UNPACU maintained a strong campaign for their release under the slogan “The three who reached the Pope,” which included marches in the east and other cities in the country.

The activists were charged with the offenses of assault, disrespect, public disorder and resisting arrest, according to what was detailed by family members who were able to visit them during their confinement.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: