Heavy prison sentences

Cuba: Heavy prison sentences -- a giant step backwards for human rights

In a move which signals a giant step backwards for human rights, at least
33 Cuban dissidents arrested in a government crackdown in March have been
sentenced to terms ranging from 14 to 27 years, Amnesty International said
today.

"Cuban courts have not handed down such heavy sentences, following
summary trials of such a broad swathe of people, in over two decades. This
is an appalling development in Cuba."

"These people, who Amnesty International fears may have been arrested
for nothing more than the peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms, have
been sentenced after manifestly unfair trials conducted in haste and
secrecy," the organization added.

In a particularly worrying development, prosecutors have reportedly
called for the death penalty against activist José Daniel Ferrer Castillo,
regional coordinator in Santiago de Cuba province for the Movimiento
Cristiano Liberación, (Christian Liberation Movement) and the Varela
Project, a petition for a referendum on fundamental freedoms. Amnesty
International, which had publicly welcomed the de facto moratorium on
executions practiced by Cuba over the last three years, considers the
prosecution's alleged recourse to the death sentence against José Daniel
Ferrer Castillo to be a severely regressive step.

Amnesty International has just published a document, Cuba: Massive
crackdown on dissent, on the wave of arrests of at least 77 political
dissidents, independent journalists and human rights activists. All of them
are apparently being subjected to unfair trials after being accused of
state security and other offences.

"The Cuban government must ensure that no-one is imprisoned for the
non-violent exercise of their right to freedom of expression and
association," the organization said.

Amnesty International would consider anyone imprisoned for these
reasons to be a prisoner of conscience.



Pressemitteilung zu den in Kuba verurteilten Dissidenten.

Meike Zoega
Presse-Team
amnesty international
Sektion der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e.V.
visit: http://www.amnesty.de
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: AMR 25/012/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 084
8 April 2003