At 8:00 PM local time, Cuban Libertarian Party President Caridad Ramirez Utria, Vice President Heriberto Pons Ruiz, and Spokesman Nelson Rodríguez Chartrand were arrested by State Security in Camaguey.
The Cuban LP leaders arrived in Camaguey to found a second Libertarian Library (after the first in Havana). They were arrested without provocation and without incident--State Security simply showed up to the house they were staying at and called them by name. They took Caridad and Heriberto first and came back for Nelson shortly after. They were charged with intent to evict a family of four (all because sleeping arrangements were changed at the house to accommodate them for the visit).
On Friday the 24th, the President and Vice President of the Cuban Libertarian Party, the Mises-Mambi Institute, and the Libertarian Library for Camaguey province decided to inaugurate the new Library and provincial party headquarters anyway, in defiance of State Security. Both persons are longtime dissidents and are listed as enemies of the state.
The team was put on a bus back to Havana this afternoon and managed to sneak in a few calls on their mobile phones. They were told that a State Security contingent would be waiting for them in Havana. However, they called our Spokesperson for South America to briefly inform her that they had just passed the city of Cienfuegos and were afraid they'd be intercepted along the way and their phones confiscated.
At approximately 8:45 PM Havana time, we received a call from Nelson in which we overheard voices arguing. The call ended quickly after. We called back and all three's phones had been shut off. This is all the information we have at this time. Further updates will come as warranted.
There are 3 things YOU can do to help!
Share and even re-blog this video and statement. Seriously, the more YOU spread the word and shine a light on the regime's actions, the safer our arrested Libertarians will be.
Report this civil and human rights violation to the following:
Observatorio de Derechos Humanos en Cuba
Fill out the contact form at http://observacuba.org/colabora/
Derechos Humanos Cuba
Email Carmen Ferreiro at carmenmferreiro@gmail.com
UN High Commissioner on Human Rights
Email InfoDesk@ohchr.org AND civilsociety@ohchr.org
Amnesty International for the Americas
Send a message at https://www.facebook.com/AmnistiaAmericas/
To PROTEST directly to the Cuban government, send an angry message to https://www.facebook.com/CubaMINREX/
- Help our new team in Camaguey get badly needed supplies for activism by donating to the Mises-Mambi Institute via PayPal at http://bit.ly/2sOu4CG