Additional information to that found in Response to Information Request CUB41222.E (2002 - May 2003), which is provided below, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Law No. 62, the Penal Code (Código Penal) of Cuba, Article 135.1, Abandonment of Functions (Abandono de Funciones), states that any civil servant or employee fulfilling a mission in a foreign country who abandons their mission, or completes, or fails to return to Cuba when required, expressly or tacitly, will be deprived of their freedom for three to eight years (Cuba 23 Dec. 1987). Moreover, Article 135.2 mentions that this sanction can be applied to civil employees who, upon the fulfilment of their mission abroad and against the express order of the Cuban government, move to another country (ibid.).

Information about the use of Article 135.1 and 135.2 in prosecuting Cuban civil servants could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in 19 May 2003 correspondence, the Director of Encuentro, an Internet-based magazine about Cuba, explained that it is difficult to identify specific cases of civil servants abandoning their posts because "thousands" of government employees such as doctors, professors, scientists, athletes and professionals have "deserted" (desertado) the Cuban regime while on official, overseas missions for the state. The Director added that this is a "daily and generalized phenomenon" (un fenómeno diario y generalizado) and that one method the government uses to retaliate against these defectors, among others, is to not allow members of the defector's family to travel for five years (19 May 2003). This information was corroborated in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002, which stated

that the Government has a policy of denying exit permission for several years to relatives of individuals who successfully migrated illegally (e.g., merchant seamen who defected while overseas and sports figures who defected while on tours abroad) (U.S. 31 Mar. 2003).

Please note that the above information is corroborated in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 (U.S. 8 Mar. 2006, Sec 2d) and in a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2005 (Oct. 2005, 3).

In a November 2002 article about two Cuban soccer players who defected to the US, one of the defectors, Alberto Delgado, stated that if they had been caught, they "would have been kicked off the national team" and sent to prison (Miami Herald 13 Nov. 2002).

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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Cuba. 23 December 1987. Ley No. 62 - Código Penal. (Cubanet) http://64.21.33.164/ref/dis/penal_2.htm [Accessed 12 May 2003]

Encuentro [Madrid]. 19 May 2003. Correspondence from the Director.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). October 2005. Vol.1, No. 5 (B). "Families Torn Apart. The High Cost of U.S. and Cuban Travel Restrictions." http://hrw.org/reports/2005/cuba1005/cuba1005.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2006]

Miami Herald. 13 November 2002. Stephen F. Holder. "Cuban Soccer Defectors Starting Anew at St.Thomas." http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y02/nov02/13e3.htm [Accessed 20 May 2003]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Cuba." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61723.htm [Accessed 21 Dec. 2006]

_____. 31 March 2003. Department of State. "Cuba." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18327.htm [Accessed 21 May 2003]

Oral sources: The Center for a Free Cuba and Cuba Solidarity Campaign did not provide information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Coordinadora Social Democrata de Cuba, Cuba Encuentro, Cuba: Issues and Answers, Cuba Source, Cuban America National Foundation, Cubanet News, Freedom House, Infoburo.org, Instituto de Esudios Cubanos, Latinamerica Press, Radio Canada, Reporters Without Borders, La Voz de Cuba Libre.