Amnesty International adds four imprisoned Cubans to its list of prisoners of conscience
14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, 23 October 2024 — Miguel Díaz Bauzá, imprisoned since October 1994, when he landed in Cuba with seven other men to fight Castroism with weapons, will spend eight more years in prison, according to what his family told several independent media. Karen María León Alfonso, the opposition leader’s daughter, expected that the 30-year sentence imposed on him would be completed on October 15, although she admitted that her father was aware that it would be extended until 2032
“They didn’t increase his sentence. In 2002, they gave him a joint sentence of 30 years, for a problem he had in the Camagüey prison,” said León Alfonso, who also revealed that the authorities offered the prisoner a parole, which he rejected. “He doesn’t want any benefit from the Government. He told the agent: ‘I’ll take whatever years, but I don’t want anything from you’.”
Díaz Bauzá, now 81 years old, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1994 for “infiltration,” “illegal entry into the country,” “terrorism” and “other acts against state security,” with the intention of organizing an armed uprising against the Castro regime.
“He doesn’t want any benefit from the government. He told the agent: ’I’ll pull as many years as it takes, but I don’t want anything from you’.”
In 2002, Díaz Bauzá joined a protest by prisoners at Kilo 8 prison in Camagüey to demand better conditions, for which he was sentenced to another 25 years in prison. The court decided that he should serve both sentences together, for a total of 30 years.
“When they didn’t release him, I started to investigate and they explained it to me,” said the prisoner’s daughter, who points out that Díaz Bauzá did “have an idea that the 30-year sentence was from 2002” even though they had another “hope.”
The prisoner, winner of the 2020 Pedro Luis Boitel Freedom Award along with Real Suárez, will therefore remain in the Campamento la 2 center, in Remedios, Villa Clara, his home province. His daughter says that Díaz Bauzá is a very strong man, but at his advanced age he has to deal with the conditions of living in captivity.
He has health problems such as psoriasis, diabetes, hypertension and prostate problems, his daughter explained to CubaNet.
Díaz Bauzá and Humberto Eladio Real Suárez were members of the National Democratic Unity Party and entered the island with Armando Sosa Fortuny, who died in 2019 in the Camagüey prison as the prisoner who spent the most years in Cuban penitentiary centers, a total of 44 if the different sentences imposed on him in his life are added together. The rest of the commando was completed by Jesús Rojas Pineda, José Ramón Falcón Gómez, Pedro Visao Peña and Lázaro González Caraballo.
He has health problems such as psoriasis, diabetes, hypertension and prostate problems, his daughter explained to ’CubaNet’
Real Suárez was released from prison in March 2023 , after serving 29 years of his 30-year sentence, although he was once sentenced to death. With that release, Díaz Bauzá becomes the longest-serving prisoner in Cuban prisons – surpassing the late Mario Chanes de Armas, who spent 30 years – as denounced by journalist and former political prisoner Pedro Corzo. “The conduct of the Cuban dictatorship against Miguel Díaz Bauzá is the reiteration of evil, injustice and the use of absolute power against those who want freedom and civil rights on the Island,” he told Martí Noticias.
The news came out on the same day that the NGO Amnesty International (AI) added four Cuban prisoners of conscience to its list: opposition member Felix Navarro, journalist and the lady in white Sayli Navarro, ’11J’ protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca and activist Luis Robles.
In a statement, AI demanded his “immediate and unconditional release” as well as that of all people “unjustly imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights” in Cuba and denounced the “context of systematic human rights violations” and the “repression” and “criminalization of any form of dissent” on the island.
AI Americas Director Ana Piquer said that these designations are a “recognition” of the “courage and resistance of the people in Cuba who overcome permanent and widespread repression and fight” for human rights.
Felix Navarro, 71, is serving his third sentence “for political reasons” despite being ill, AI said. His daughter, Sayli Navarro, 38, co-founder of the Ladies in White movement, was arrested with her father after 11J.
Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 41, was convicted in 2021 for participating in the same protests, accused of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention described his detention as “arbitrary” and considered that “his rights to a fair and impartial trial” were violated.
Finally, Luis Robles, known as “the young man with the placard,” has been sentenced since 2022 for enemy propaganda and disobedience for having peacefully demonstrated two years earlier with a sign calling for “freedom” for rapper Denis Solís, who was arrested days earlier.
“It is imperative that the international community show its solidarity and demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights,” said Piquer, who demanded that the Cuban government respect human rights, including freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly; repeal repressive laws and cease repression of dissenters.
“It is imperative that the international community shows its solidarity and demands the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights”
With this announcement, the NGO significantly expands its list of prisoners of conscience in Cuba, which until now included opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer García; artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo; Yoruba priests Loreto Hernández García and Donaida Pérez Paseiro, and Cuban professor and activist Pedro Albert Sánchez.
AI stated that its aim is not to declare everyone a prisoner of conscience, but to draw attention to this problem by highlighting well-known and representative cases.
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