RESOLUTION 45/81

Case 4402 (CUBA)

June 25, 1981

 

BACKGROUND:

 

1.          In a communication of May 29, 1979, the following denunciation was received:

 

1. Last June, 114 political prisoners were transferred from the Combinado del Este prison in Havana to the maximum security prison of Boni Oriente.

 

2. Most of the prisoners transferred are "unbreakable" (plantados) prisoners.

 

3. The reasons for the transfer are unknown, but it is suspected that they were transferred to separate them from their companions because the authorities intend to delay their release or not to release them at all.

 

4. They were transferred under inhumane conditions, like animals, crowded into "dog kennels" (jaulas perreras) for more than 20 hours, with little medical care and scant food until they reached the prison.

 

5. Details of the transfer are given in a letter received on August 16, which was smuggled out of the Boniato prison.

 

6. News received by the families of some of the transferred prisoners indicate that a group of them are on a hunger strike.

 

2.          In a note of December 18, 1979, the Commission transmitted the pertinent portions of the denunciation to the Cuban Government and requested information on the case.

 

3.          To date, the Government of Cuba has not replied.

 

WHEREAS:

 

1.          To date, the Government of Cuba has not replied to the Commission's request dated December 18, 1979.

 

2.          Article 39 (1) of the Commission Regulations provides as follows:

Article 39

 

The facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been transmitted to the government of the state in reference shall be presumed to be true if, during the maximum period set by the Commission under the provisions of Article 31 paragraph 5, the government has not provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not lead to a different conclusion.

 

 

THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 

RESOLVES:

 

1.          Pursuant to article 39 (1) of its Regulations. to presume to be true the events denounced in the communication of May 29, 1979, concerning the arbitrary detention of 114 prisoners.

 

2.          To declare that the Government of Cuba violated the right to life, liberty and personal security (Art. I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man), the right to the preservation of health and to well-being (Article XI), the right to a fair trial (Article XVIII), the right of protection from arbitrary arrest (Article XXV), and the right to due process of law (Article XXVI).

 

3.          To communicate this decision to the Government of Cuba and to the claimants.

 

4.          To include this resolution in the Commission's Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 18(f) of the Statute and Article 59(g) of the Regulations of the Commission

RESOLUTION 46/81

Case 4429 (CUBA)

June 25, 1981

 

BACKGROUND:

 

1.          In a communication of May 29, 1979, a denunciation was received by the IACHR concerning Eduardo Capote Rodríguez and over 169 political prisoners in the "Combinado del Este" jail in Cuba, as follows: "In all countries, among all peoples, in every corner of the globe where civilization has illuminated the mind of man, the existence of that prestigious organization known as the International Red Cross in known. Its humanitarian goals, its accomplishments, its enormous moral and material contribution to the helpless of this world, without regard to race, creed, ideology or any other circumstance are similarly known. We political prisoners who have been rated as "unbreakable" plantados in the Havana Prison are in the painful necessity of appealing to the representatives of the International Red Cross, and we certify the authenticity of this letter with our signatures.

 

It is not having to appeal to you that causes us pain. The pain we feel is due to the impossibility of our jailers supplying our needs.

 

What we will never be able to understand is that a government that claims to be consolidated should inform us through the Director of the Prison, as happened a few days ago, that our meager rations have been substantially reduced; that the old promises of providing prostheses to prisoners who require them, will not be met; and that we who need them are responsible for paying the cost of any type of prosthesis, through our families.

 

We ask: Is it our families and not the government who are responsible for our being exposed to every kind of physical misery, for more than 15 years, in the Communist dungeons? Are they, our loved ones, most of them ruined by the imbalance between their modest incomes and the exorbitant prices of consumer goods--even staple goods--responsible for our having lost our teeth and our eyesight, because of inadequate nutrition, the absolute lack for years of any type of dental care, and our incarceration in dark cells?

 

There is even the recent experience of "Boniato" (a provincial jail in the East), where a numerous group of political prisoners were locked up nude for eight years in small slave dungeons (ergastulas), totally walled in and incommunicado, without the least minimum of medical care, and with a miserable diet, because o, the mere fact of maintaining their dignity and their position as "unbreakable" (plantados). That bitter experience cost valuable lives, snuffed out by malnutrition. There was also the death of a companion who was killed by machine-gun fire, with more than 20 bullet wounds, plus a brutal beating. "Boniato" is only one example. It is perhaps the harshest and best known of prisons in recent years, when the image of the forced labor camps on the Isla de Pinos is being erased in the sands of time like a horrible nightmare.

 

But the authorities of our country apparently regard themselves as innocent and not responsible for all our physical miseries. Never mind how much they have to pretend that: "The end justifies the means." They allocate only enough funds to provide prisoners with a barely few crumbs, and to dress up a hospital showcase for impressing foreign delegates, and occasionally, although it appears absurd, to try to deceive and encourage themselves.

 

For these reasons, and knowing of the availability and objectives of the International Red Cross, we request the assistance of your prestigious organization to provide prostheses for those of our comrades who need them."

 

2.          The IACHR has in its possession a complete list, with signatures, of the persons who allegedly have suffered inhumane treatment.

 

3.          In a note of June 22, 1979, the Commission transmitted the pertinent portions of the denunciation to the Cuban Government, requesting information on the case.

 

4.          The Cuban Government has thus far not replied.

 

WHEREAS:

 

1.          To date, the Government of Cuba has not replied to the Commission's request dated June 22, 1979.

 

2.          Article 39 (1) of the Commission's Regulations provides as follows:

Article 39

 

The facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been transmitted to the government of the state in reference shall be presumed to be true if, during the maximum period set by the commission under the provisions of Article 31 paragraph 5, the government has not provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not lead to a different conclusion.

 

THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 

RESOLVES:

 

1.          Pursuant to Article 39 (1) of its Regulations, to presume to be true the events denounced in the communication of May 29, 1979, concerning the arbitrary detention of the 170 political prisoners locked up in the "Combinado del Este" jail.

 

2.          To declare that the Government of Cuba violated the right to life, liberty and personal security (Art. I, American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man) and the right to the preservation of health and to well-being (Art. XI).

 

3.          To communicate this decision to the Government of Cuba and to the claimants.

 

4.          To include this resolution in the Commission's Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 18(f) of the Statute and Article 59(g) of the Regulations of the Commission.

 

 

RESOLUTION 47/81

Case 4677 (CUBA)

JUNE 25, 1981

 

BACKGROUND:

 

1.          In a communication of August 12, 1979, the following denunciation was received:

 

"In January 1959, all members of the Cuban air corps (pilots, copilots, mechanics and workers) were made political prisoners:

 

Alemany Pelaez, Jorge

Alonso Guillot, Ramón

Brito García, Juan

Iglesias Ramirez, Manuel

Lam Rodriguez, Roberto

Piefra Bustarviejo, Antonio

Pinera Machin, Augustín

Bacallao, Pedro

Bermudez Esquivel, Mario

Beravides Ballesteros, Eulalio

Burias Acosta, Luis

Chapi Yaniz, Francisco

Estevez de Arcos, Guillermo

Perez Valdes, Roberto

Rodriguez de Castro, Ricardo

Rodríguez, Edelso

Samoano, Gustavo C.

Arguelles, Ramón

Campbell, Francisco B.

Lazo de Cuba, Carlos

Antunez, Telesforo R.

Becerra, Rafael

Bergueiro, Armando

Capote Oropesa, Alfredo

Delgado Hernández, Sandalino

Cerdena Valdes, Benigno

Concepción, Julio

Cordoba Aguilar, Julio

 

In March 1959, they were tried before a revolutionary court composed of Commandant Felix Peña Díaz, President; and Commandant Antonio Michel Yabor and Deputy Judge Advocate Alberto Parua Toll, members. All of the evidence was submitted at the trial, and the court acquitted all of the imprisoned persons, ordering their immediate release, but they were not released.

 

Fidel Castro, in violation of all the evidence and the laws in force, ordered all of the prisoners in prison.

 

By express order of Commandant Fidel Castro, a rigged second trial was held, whose verdict had already been drawn up by Castro himself, and all of the accused were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Twenty years have now passed, and all of these innocent political prisoners remain in prison, except for Eulelio Beruvides Ballesteros, the only one who was released.

 

The commandant of the Reblede Army, Felix Peña Diaz, who presided over the court that acquitted the prisoners, was overwhelmed with grief by the injustice imposed by Castro ant his regime on the prisoners, and committed suicide.

 

Because of the time spent in inadequate prisons, with cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, the health of many of the prisoners has been broken, and they are not receiving either adequate medical care or food."

 

2.          In a note of December 18, 1979, the Commission transmitted the pertinent portions of the denunciation to the Cuban Government, requesting that it supply information on the case.

 

3.          The Government of Cuba has thus far not replied.

 

WHEREAS:

 

1.          To date, the Cuban Government has not replied to the Commission's request dated December 18, 1979.

 

2.          Article 39 (1) of the Regulations of the Commission provides as follows:

 

Article 39

 

The facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been transmitted to the government of the state in reference shall be presumed to be true if, during the maximum period set by the Commission under the provisions of Article 31, paragraph 5, the government has not provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not lead to a different conclusion.

 

THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 

RESOLVES:

 

1.          Pursuant to Article 39 (1) of its Regulations, to presume to be true the events denounced in the communication of December 22, 1979, concerning the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment to which the persons concerned were subjected as of the date of the denunciation.

 

2.          To declare that the Government of Cuba violated the right to life, liberty and personal security (Art. I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man), and the right to the preservation of health and to well-being (Art. XI).

 

3.          To communicate this decision to the Government of Cuba and to the claimants.

 

4.          To include this resolution in the Commission's Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 18(f) of the statute and Article 59(g) of the Regulations of the Commission.

 

 

RESOLUTION 48/81

Case 7486 (CUBA)

June 25, 1981

 

BACKGROUND:

 

1.          In a communication of March 26, 1980, it was reported that 15 United States citizens were detained by the Government of Cuba and sentenced to numerous (2-24) years of prison. Most of them were not afforded due process of law. The detained persons are as follows:

 

Melvin Lee Bailey, Robert Bennet, Walter Lewis Clark, William Dawson, John Fekete, Agustin Householder, Lance Fyfe, Jon Gaynor, Douglas Miklas, Lewis Douglas Moore, William Nelson, Michael Seitler, Mark Schierbaum, Dale Stanhope, Thomas White.

 

The prisoners were detained under various charges. Some were detained for alleged possession of marijuana in Cuban jurisdictional waters; others were accused of being CIA agents; and others were detained for having illegally entered the country.

 

It is reported, in addition, that they were tortured psychologically and physically.

 

The Americans were incarcerated in the Combinado del Este prison up to October 1980, when they were released.

 

2.          In a note of September 9, 1980, the Commission transmitted the pertinent portions of the denunciation to the Cuban Government, requesting information on the case.

 

3.          The Government of Cuba has thus far not replied.

 

WHEREAS:

 

1.          To date, the Government of Cuba has not replied to the Commission's request dated September 9, 1980.

 

2.          Article 39 (1) of the Commission's Regulations provides as follows:

Article 39

 

The facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been transmitted to the government of the state in reference shall be presumed to be true if, during the maximum period set by the Commission under the provisions of Article 31 paragraph 5, the government has not provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not lead to a different conclusion.

 

THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 

RESOLVES:

 

1.          Pursuant to Article 39 (1) of its Regulations, to presume to be true the events denounced in the communication of March 26, 1980, concerning the detention of 15 United States prisoners.

 

2.          To declare that the Government of Cuba violated the right of protection from arbitrary arrest (Art. XXV of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man) and the right to due process of law (Art. XXVI).

 

3.          To take note of the fact that the prisoners were released.

 

4.          To communicate this decision to the Government of Cuba and to the claimants.

 

5.          To include this resolution in the Commission's Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 18(f) of the Statute and Article 59(g) of the Regulations of the Commission.