Dokument #1119885
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Country Reports 1996 and the
Amnesty International report Cuba: Dissidents Imprisoned or
Forced into Exile state that Young People for Democracy
(Jóvenes por la Democracia) activists Nestor
Rodríguez Lobaina and Radames García de la Vega were
arrested by police on 6 June 1996 (1997, 418; July 1996, 2). Both
sources state that Young People for Democracy, a group that works
for university reform, is a member of Concilio Cubano, a coalition
of unofficial political, social and human rights groups in Cuba
(1997, 417; ibid). Rodríguez and García were charged
with resisting and disobeying authority, and were subsequently
sentenced to 6 to 12 months of restricted movement and five years
of internal confinement in their own province, and were required to
report periodically to local police (1997, 418; ibid.).
Please consult Country Reports
1996 and the Amnesty International report, available in all
Regional Documentation Centres, for additional information on the
Rodríguez and García case.
The attached 1 May 1997 CubaNet
report states that García, Young People for Democracy's
vice-president, was rearrested on 30 April 1997 and held
incommunicado in Palma Soriano. The same report states that
García would be tried for "contempt to the person of the
Commander in Chief " (Fidel Castro) (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the
list of additional sources consulted in researching this
Information Request.
References
Amnesty International. July 1996.
Cuba: Dissidents Imprisoned or Forced into Exile. (AI
Index: AMR 25/29/96). London: Amnesty International.
CubaNet [Havana]. 1 May 1997.
Monike de Motas. "Call Goes Out for International Solidarity with
Young Cuban Democrat." [Internet] [Accessed 9 Oct. 1997]
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1996. 1997. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Attachment
CubaNet [Havana]. 1 May 1997.
Monike de Motas. "Call Goes Out for International Solidarity with
Young Cuban Democrat." [Internet] [Accessed 9 Oct. 1997]
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report.
1994-1997.
Amnesty International. April 1996.
Government Crackdown on Dissidents.
_____. December 1992. Cuba:
Silencing the Voices of Dissent.
Human Rights Watch World
Report. 1996-1997.
INS Resource Center. June 1995.
Information Packet Series: Human Rights in Cuba.
Latinamerica Press [Lima].
1990-1997.
Latin American Weekly Report
[London]. 1996-1997.
News from Americas Watch [New
York]. 1990-1997.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases,
Global News Bank, NEXIS/LEXIS, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World
News Connection (WNC).