Petition No 1385/2020 by José Alberto Pimentel Capote (Spanish), on behalf of the ‘Mesa de Unidad Cubana’, on condemnation of Cuba for violation of human rights and civil liberties

1385/2020

Summary title: Petition No 1385/2020 by José Alberto Pimentel Capote (Spanish), on behalf of the ‘Mesa de Unidad Cubana’, on condemnation of Cuba for violation of human rights and civil liberties

Petition number: 1385/2020

Topics: Fundamental Rights,  Social Affairs,  External Relations

Country: European Union

Name of association: Mesa de Unidad Cubana

Name: José Alberto Pimentel Capote

The petitioner denounces the ongoing unprecedented repression in Cuba of the San Isidro Movement on account of a civic protest that began on 22 November 2020. According to the petitioner, this has resulted in disproportionate levels of harassment and repression by the Cuban authorities. The petitioner points out that a dozen or more members of the San Isidro Movement are on hunger strike while others have been imprisoned without due process because they asked for places where they could express freedom of expression in their art. The petitioner denounces specifically the imprisonment of Denis Solis on 9 November 2020, whose release many artists, intellectuals and academics, both in Cuba and elsewhere, have also demanded. The petitioner challenges the EU institutions to demonstrate strong opposition to the Cuban Government’s actions and to demonstrate the genuine solidarity Cuba has been calling for for years. The petitioner also demands that the Cuban authorities be exhorted to dismantle the so-called rapid response brigades [Brigadas de Respuesta Rápidas] which attack and suppress activists and dissidents. The petitioner also rejects the review of the EU’s relations with Cuba because there cannot be any involvement with those who are the antithesis of our model for co-existence and he denounces the silence in the face of these abuses.