venerdì, gennaio 23, 2009

Uncommon Sense: Castro dictatorship arrests Obama supporter

Castro dictatorship arrests Obama supporter

Barack Obama, meet Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez." The man is worth your support, and then some, especially after he was arrested while traveling to Havana to watch your inauguration as a guest of the U.S. Interest Section.

Cuban Democratic Directorate reports:

Peaceful opposition activist and former political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez” was arrested and transported to an unknown location on the afternoon of Monday, January 19th. He was intercepted by the Castro regime’s repressive forces as he traveled to Havana to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama as a special guest of the United States Interest Section.

Early on January 19th, Antúnez made the following statement by telephone to the Cuban Democratic Directorate: “I want to say that since the early hours of the morning today, my house has been surrounded by political police officers […] there is a visible presence on both corners of my house. I am here with my half brother and fellow human rights activist Loreto Hernández García. We may be arrested at any moment.”

Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, president of the Rosa Parks Civic Movement for Civil Rights, and wife of Antúnez, stated that “It is shameful that today, during the inauguration of a black president in the United States, my husband, who is also black, has been arrested by the political police, and that on top of everything, he has been disappeared. I do not know if my husband is alive or dead. I do not know if my husband has been beaten, because I have had no news of him. I am holding the Cuban government responsible for whatever may happen to my husband.”

Antúnez was held arbitrarily and without charge until the following Wednesday, January 21.

The Directorate also has the details on other recent detentions.