CUBA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUND-UP FEB. 23- MAR. 7

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HAVANA 000228 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2017 TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SUBJECT: CUBA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUND-UP FEB. 23- MAR. 7 REF: HAVANA 207 Classified By: COM: M.E. Parmly : For reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) DISSIDENTS STILL NURSING INJURIES: Three of the pro-democracy activists are still recovering from their injuries after plainclothes members of state security beat them on March 1. The activists with seven others were distributing copies of the UN Declaration of Human Rights at the time of the incident. Martha Beatriz Roque's (MBR) arm is in a sling and she still is experiencing a great deal of pain after security agents struck and yanked her. X-rays show that MBR has sprained ligaments in her arm. Guillermo "Coco" Farinas still has pain after he was struck in the head. Idania Contrera's wrist is swollen. The swelling is going down, but as the result of having been hit in the lower back, she is having kidney problems and has had blood in her urine. ¶2. (C) INDEPENDENT LIBRARIAN RECEIVES FOUR AND A HALF YEAR SENTENCE FOR STRIKING A POLICE OFFICER: On March 4 the Municipal Court of San Miguel sentenced Juan Bermudez Toranzo, independent librarian and Vice President of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights, to four and a half years for assaulting the local chief of police, as well as the police officer's wife and daughter. Toranzo denies the charges. He states that on November 21, 2007 he was holding a peaceful meeting in his home in Cambute, a poor neighborhood in the outskirts of Havana, when a large number of police and members of state security rushed into his home. At the time Toranzo was on a hunger strike to demand the release of political prisoner. He was also charged on February 28 of this year with "destruction of state property" for breaking a light bulb in prison. Four neighbors of Toranzo still face charges from the incident in November. ¶3. (C) UNIVERSITY STUDENT EXPELLED FOR ENGAGING IN DEBATE ABOUT CUBAN GOVERNMENT: Authorities expelled second year student, Nestor Perez Gonzalez, from the University of Pinar del Rio. A constitutional law professor denounced Perez for calling the government "a dictatorship" during a classroom debate. Perez was also cited for co-writing an article in the on-line magazine, Convivencia, edited by Dagoberto Valdes. The article was about the transition to democracy in Spain after the Franco dictatorship. Perez said that he was taking Raul Castro at his word after Raul's speech on February 24 stating that the government should tolerate divergent opinions. Twice Perez's fellow students voted against the expulsion, but the matter was referred to the University Student Federation (FEU) that upheld the expulsion. Perez said he was told that the universities are "for communists". ¶4. (U) ANTUNEZ ROUGHED UP MARKING THE TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BROTHERS OF THE RESCUE SHOOTDOWN: On February 24 six activists used the occasion of the twelfth anniversary of the shooting down of two Brothers of the Rescue planes to hold a march to demand the release of political prisoners. The march took place in the city of Taguasco in the province of Sancti Spiritus. The participants were: Georgi Perdigon Brito, Margarita Perdigon Brito, Iris Tamara Perez Aquilera, Jorge Luis Perez Garcia ("Antunez"),Angel Enrique Fernandez Rivero and Bienvenido Perdigon Pacheco, the 68 year old father of political prisoner, Raimundo Perdigon Brito. An official of state security told the marchers to disperse. When they refused, members of the security force pushed the marchers into patrol cars. They sprayed pepper spray in Antunez's face and then, according to the other participants, kicked him when Antunez was on the ground. When Antunez's wife, Iris, protested, members of state security pulled her by the hair and dragged her to the ground. Antunez was placed in a stuffy cell for several hours. The guards placed a radio outside his cell playing the speech of Raul Castro as he assumed the Presidency of the Council of State. Georgi Perdigon, Fernandez and Bienvenido Perdigon state that they were beaten in jail. After about 10 hours, all those incarcerated were driven by police escort to their homes that are in several different provinces. To date no charges have been filed as a result of this incident. HAVANA 00000228 002 OF 002 PARMLY