To promote a peaceful transition to a Cuba that respects human rights
and political and economic freedoms
Please take a moment to help save the life of prisoner of conscience Silverio Portal Contreras and sign a petition for academic freedom in Cuba
The Center for a Free Cuba took part in a social media campaign to highlight the plight of Cuban prisoner of conscience Silverio Portal Contreras on Monday, August 31, 2020.
His wife, the activist Lucinda González Gomez, who launched the initiative, asked everyone who wanted to demonstrate their solidarity with the situation of Silverio to put their photo on their profile in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social network accounts, to demonstrate to the Castro regime regime that "Silverio is all of us."
Silverio Portal Contreras
According to Lucinda, her husband "can die at any moment."
She also told Radio Martí that a letter with "more than 1,000 signatures" would be delivered to the Council of State in which the situation facing Silverio Portal Contreras in prison 1580, in Havana, is made known.
She also told Radio Martí that a letter with "more than 1,000 signatures" would be delivered to the Council of State in which the situation facing Silverio Portal Contreras in prison 1580, in Havana, is made known.
In a petition published on the Change.org website, more than 788 Cuban artists and activists are demanding the immediate freedom of Silverio, and it is still open for signature.
Among the signatories are the siblings Omara and Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, the activist Marthadela Tamayo, the independent artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, the writer and artist Coco Fusco, and the journalist Iliana Hernández, among others.
The text of the petition indicates that Portal Contreras led the project "No more deaths in Cuba due to building collapses," which requires state institutions to protect people who live in buildings in poor condition in their communities.
Portal Contreras was sentenced to four years in prison for alleged crimes of "public disorder" and "contempt" after leading several public protests demanding decent housing for all Cubans. He was arrested on June 20, 2016 in Havana and the court document states that "the behavior of the accused is particularly offensive because it took place in a touristic area." The document further describes the accused as having “bad social and moral behavior” and mentions that he fails to participate in pro-government activities.
According to Silverio’s wife, before his arrest he had campaigned against the collapse of dilapidated buildings in Havana. Silverio was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International on August 26, 2019. He was beaten by prison officials in mid-May 2020 and lost sight in one eye.
Among the signatories are the siblings Omara and Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, the activist Marthadela Tamayo, the independent artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, the writer and artist Coco Fusco, and the journalist Iliana Hernández, among others.
The text of the petition indicates that Portal Contreras led the project "No more deaths in Cuba due to building collapses," which requires state institutions to protect people who live in buildings in poor condition in their communities.
Portal Contreras was sentenced to four years in prison for alleged crimes of "public disorder" and "contempt" after leading several public protests demanding decent housing for all Cubans. He was arrested on June 20, 2016 in Havana and the court document states that "the behavior of the accused is particularly offensive because it took place in a touristic area." The document further describes the accused as having “bad social and moral behavior” and mentions that he fails to participate in pro-government activities.
According to Silverio’s wife, before his arrest he had campaigned against the collapse of dilapidated buildings in Havana. Silverio was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International on August 26, 2019. He was beaten by prison officials in mid-May 2020 and lost sight in one eye.
The wife of the activist, put out a desperate plea for help after receiving a call from her husband on June 10, 2020. “Silverio called me and put an official on the phone to explain the situation,” said Gonzalez Gomez to CubaNet. The official told her that “he was taken to the ophthalmologist and because of temporary loss of blood flow, he was losing sight in both eyes.”
The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) announced on July 23, 2020 that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted their request for precautionary measures for Silverio Portal Contreras. The request was submitted on June 5, 2020 and was granted on July 22, 2020. "Portal Contreras is in a situation of grave risk and the Cuban government should follow the IACHR’s recommendations to take measures necessary to protect his life and personal integrity," stated Race and Equality.
Cubans are jailed in Cuba for exercising their human rights on matters of conscience such as Silverio Portal Contreras and the absence of freedom of conscience extends into the educational system. Omara Ruiz Urquiola was fired from her post in academia last August 2019 due to her dissenting views.
Cuban-Canadian historian and democracy activist Michael Lima Cuadra at DemocraticSpaces.com today circulated an English translation of a petition that calls for an end to the politicization of Cuba's education system into a propaganda tool to maintain the 61 year old dictatorship. He cited a letter from August 2019 by Cuban academics challenging the August 15, 2019 statement by Martha Mesa Valenciano, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education who said: “those who do not feel activists of the revolutionary policies of our party, defender of our ideology, moral and political convictions should resign as university professor.” The original petition in Spanish was circulated last year, but has been released now in English, and Lima Cuadra explains the reason for signing the petition.
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