Cuesta Morúa had alerted his closest circle the day before that State Security was watching outside his home
EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 1 December 2024 — Cuban opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morúa was released on Saturday in Havana after being detained for about seven hours. The arrest took place mid-morning in the vicinity of his home and after the dissident alerted his closest circle that he had been under surveillance outside his home by Cuban security forces since the day before.
Several human rights organizations and NGOs had denounced the arrest and said they were unaware of the motive – although it could be a “preventive” arrest prior to December 10, Human Rights Day – or the whereabouts of Cuesta Morúa. Dissident sources said, however, that they had no record of other arrests in the diminished opposition group on the island.
The NGO Cubalex, for its part, “called on the international community to keep its attention on human rights violations in Cuba” by denouncing the dissident’s arrest.
Cuesta Morúa recently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to request the release of José Daniel Ferrer
Cuesta Morúa recently filed a habeas corpus petition with the Cuban Supreme Court to request the immediate release of opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, an initiative that has so far received no official response. The appeal was filed shortly after Ferrer’s family reported that the prisoner held for political reasons had received a “brutal beating” from staff at the Mar Verde prison (Santiago de Cuba), where he has been held since July 11, 2021.
Cuesta Morúa is an uncomfortable figure for the regime because of his method of dissenting through official channels. At the beginning of the year, Parliament rejected a petition to process an amnesty law that was promoted by dozens of relatives of political prisoners. From that request, which the National Assembly classified as “inappropriate,” a broad debate arose on the relevance or not of appealing to the Cuban regime’s own laws to promote change on the Island. In an interview given to 14ymedio, the activist said that “dictatorships are possible only if they institutionalize all social life. They are also obliged to incorporate the language and certain democratic tools,” which citizens must take advantage of.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
