CUBA’S RELIGIOUS POLICE CONTINUES HARASSING AND INTIMIDATING THE ASSOCIATION OF FREE YORUBAS OF CUBA2/24/2020
by Veronica Mayer
GLA Urges the United States to Impose Economic Sanctions on the Office of Religious Affairs
(Washington, D.C.) On February 24, under the color of law, Cuban security services harassed Ms. Eliaisys Almeida Pavón, Head of Public Relations of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (Asociación de Yorubas Libres de Cuba, or “Free Yorubas”), for allegedly frequenting the home of a known Cuban dissident. Using police citations to harass people of faith is consistent with the regime’s ongoing campaign of intimidation against the Free Yorubas and other belief traditions that are independent of the state. (See the attached August 19, 2019 letter to Secretary Pompeo on this matter.) CUBA’S RELIGIOUS POLICE CONTINUES HARASSING AND INTIMIDATING THE ASSOCIATION OF FREE YORUBAS OF CUBA2/24/2020
GLA Urges the United States to Impose Economic Sanctions on the Office of Religious Affairs
(Washington, D.C.) On February 24, under the color of law, Cuban security services harassed Ms. Eliaisys Almeida Pavón, Head of Public Relations of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (Asociación de Yorubas Libres de Cuba, or “Free Yorubas”), for allegedly frequenting the home of a known Cuban dissident. Using police citations to harass people of faith is consistent with the regime’s ongoing campaign of intimidation against the Free Yorubas and other belief traditions that are independent of the state. See Press Releases and the attached August 19, 2019 letter to Secretary Pompeo on this matter in Read More. by Veronica Mayer Washington, DC – Early today 7 Cuban State Security officers entered the home in Havana, Cuba of U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet and his wife, Elsa Morejón. Dr. Biscet was released late this afternoon, after paying a fine of 500 CUP.
Washington, DC – Early today 7 Cuban State Security officers entered the home in Havana, Cuba of U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet and his wife, Elsa Morejón. Dr. Biscet was released late this afternoon, after paying a fine of 500 CUP.
“Dr. Biscet is no stranger to the regime’s brutal tactics. And regrettably, this is not an isolated incident. It’s part of the systematic targeting of civil society in the last two years of anyone who seeks to exercise their fundamental rights. The U.S. government should, among other things, sanction Cuba’s Religion Police and anyone involved in the arbitrary detention of dissidents and civil society leaders,” said Jason Poblete, Attorney, Global Liberty Alliance. According to Elsa Morejón’s Tweets, some of which have since been deleted, regime officials confiscated computers, cellular phones, a camera, documents, and Internet cables. Cuban police records state that they did this on suspicion that objects were acquired illicitly. Dr. Biscet, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2007, was featured in a video on religious persecution at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 6, as was reported on our website earlier. He served over twelve years in prison on two different sentences for promoting human rights in Cuba, is currently on parole for the rest of his 25-year sentence, and has been denied the ability to leave the country for several years. On August 19, 2019, the GLA and two other NGOs urged the Trump administration to impose economic sanctions and restrict U.S. visas to officials of Cuba’s Office of Religious Affairs. You can find the letter and release on the GLA website here.
by Veronica Mayer
Washington, D.C.) On Friday, February 14, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States advised the Global Liberty Alliance that it has granted Precautionary Measures in support of several members of a Cuban political opposition party, the Patriotic Union of Cuba better known by its Spanish acronym, UNPACU. These are: Jose Daniel Ferrer, UNPACU President, Fernando Gonzalez Valliant, and Jose Pupo Chaveco y Roilan.
CUBAN RESISTANCE LEADER’S STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY HIGHLIGHTED AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST2/8/2020
(Washington, D.C.) On February 6, 2020, Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet, Cuban human rights advocate and recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, was featured at the National Prayer Breakfast. This annual celebration of faith, hosted by Members of the U.S. Congress and attended by U.S. Presidents since 1953, had over 4,000 people in attendance this year from all U.S. states and many nations, of varied cultures and faiths. This year Dr. Biscet was highlighted in a video on religious persecution shown during the Breakfast, as one of 11 international religious leaders suffering for their strongly-held beliefs. Imprisoned for over 25 years for his support of religious liberty and human rights in Cuba, Dr. Biscet was prevented from leaving the country in order to attend the Breakfast. As he was unable to attend in person, Dr. Biscet conveyed his deep gratitude and thanks in a written letter to U.S. Congressman John Moolenar, U.S. Congressman Thomas Suozzi, and former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolff who recommended Dr. Biscet’s plight be highlighted at the 2020 breakfast. Among other things, Dr. Biscet said: “Today, in my country, we are experiencing an escalation of persecution at the hands of the Cuban government against those people from many walks of life, including pro-democracy activists, and religious institutions, who have become more adamant in their defense of human rights and seek a change toward freedom and democracy.” Biscet recognized the United States’s defense of religious liberty as a blessing, adding that he gave “thanks to Almighty God whose hand can be seen defending and protecting religious liberty in your country, the United States of America.” As President Trump notes in the video, around 80% of the world’s population suffer from religious persecution, and it is important to remember those repressed by their governments, as Speaker Pelosi observes in her remarks. You can see the video segment on religious liberty on cable network C-SPAN’s live broadcast of the event here. Global Liberty Alliance and Legal Defense Fund (“the Global Liberty Alliance”) attorneys, public policy professionals, and academics in the United States and in other nations collaborate on matters to help advance the public interest, defend fundamental rights and liberty. To learn more about Dr. Biscet’s six-point plan for liberty in Cuba, visit the Project Emilia website. (Washington, D.C.) El 6 de febrero de 2020, el doctor Óscar Elías Biscet, defensor cubano de los derechos humanos y galardonado de la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad de los EE.UU., tuvo un papel destacado en el Desayuno Nacional de Oración. Esta celebración anual de la fe, patrocinada por los Miembros del Congreso de los Estados Unidos a la que los Presidentes de los Estados Unidos han acudido desde 1953, acogió a más de 4.000 asistentes este año de todos los Estados y de muchas naciones, quienes representan a varias culturas y creencias religiosas. Se destacó al Dr. Biscet en un vídeo sobre la persecución religiosa presentado al Desayuno como uno de 11 líderes religiosos que sufren por sus firmes convicciones.
Este año se destacó al Dr. Biscet en un vídeo sobre la persecución religiosa que se presentó en el Desayuno, como uno de 11 líderes religiosos que sufren a causa de sus firmes convicciones. Al Dr. Biscet, quien ha sido encarcelado por más de 25 años por apoyar la libertad de culto y los derechos humanos en Cuba, no lo permitieron salir de su país para asistir al Desayuno. Como no pudo asistir en persona, el Dr. Biscet comunicó su profundo aprecio y agradecimiento en una carta dirigida al congresista estadounidense John Moolenar, al congresista Thomas Suozzi y al antiguo representante de Virginia Frank Wolff, quienes brindaron su apoyo a que se destacara el aprieto del doctor en el Desayuno de 2020. Entre otras cosas, dijo: «Hoy, en el país, estamos en una escalada creciente de persecuciones por parte del gobierno cubano contra la población, los activistas prodemocráticos e instituciones religiosas, que se han vuelto más firmes en la defensa de los derechos humanos y desean un cambio hacia la libertad y la democracia.» Biscet también reconoció la bendición de la defensa de la libertad religiosa en los Estados Unidos: «Doy gracias al Dios Bíblico que en su país, EEUU, está dando muestra en la práctica de la defensa y protección de la libertad religiosa.» Como nota el Presidente Trump en el vídeo, hacia 80% de la población mundial padece la persecución religiosa, y cabe recordar a los que han sido reprimidos por sus gobiernos, como observa la Presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes Pelosi en sus comentarios. Se puede ver el vídeo sobre la libertad de culto en la transmisión en directo de la cadena de cable C-SPAN, aquí. La Alianza para la Libertad Global y Fondo para la Defensa Legal (“La Alianza para la Libertad Global”) se compone de abogados, especialistas en políticas públicas y académicos de los Estados Unidos y de otros países, quienes colaboran en los asuntos para ayudar a promover el interés público y defender los derechos fundamentales y la libertad. |
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