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NEWS
CUBA
OAS unit blasts Cuba
for rights violations; The human rights branch of the Organization of
American States condemned Cuba for the arrest of 75 dissidents and for
three killings, the first specific condemnation in seven years.
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com
2 November 2006
The Miami Herald
WASHINGTON
The human rights branch of the Organization of American States Wednesday
condemned Cuba for jailing 75 dissidents and swiftly trying and
executing three hijackers during a 2003 crackdown on dissent.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) recommended Cuba
free the prisoners, compensate the victims and modify its laws to ensure
the independence of the judiciary and the rights of its citizens.
The IACHR's opinion, issued in two separate reports, will likely have
little immediate impact because Cuba has long refused to recognize IACHR
decisions. But human rights lawyers say it might lay the ground for
future legal actions, including suits for reparations, if there is a
change of government.
TELLING THEIR STORIES
''As a result of this case, these three deaths . . . are not anonymous
deaths anymore,'' said Claudio Grossman, a law professor at American
University who led a legal team that argued the hijackers' case. ``Their
story should be told by a legitimate organ with authority.''
The IACHR, widely respected by nongovernment human rights groups, has
been credited with helping thousands of victims of violations in the
hemisphere obtain redress and prod OAS member states to improve their
human rights protections.
Cuba argues the commission has no jurisdiction over Havana because the
country was suspended from the OAS in 1962. It routinely returns IACHR
communications unopened.
The 75 dissidents were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison after brief
trials on charges generally alleging they were acting as U.S. agents.
The IACHR report mentions another four dissidents jailed around the same
time. Fifteen were released later on health grounds.
HIJACKERS KILLED
The three men were executed by firing squads just nine days after their
arrest following a foiled attempt to hijack a passenger ferry to
Florida. Their swift trial and executions infuriated international human
rights organizations, many Cuban Americans in Miami and the U.S.
government.
The IACHR regularly condemns Cuba for the lack of liberties there, and
also urges the United States to end the embargo against the island. But
the panel rarely tackles specific cases.
In 1996, it condemned Cuba for the 37 deaths during the 1994 sinking of
a Florida-bound tugboat after it was rammed and sunk by government
vessels. And in 1999 it blamed Cuba for the 1996 shoot-downs of the two
Brothers to the Rescue planes in which four people were killed.
The commission argues that Cuba is still subject to its jurisdiction
because it continues to be part of the 1948 Charter of the OAS and the
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man of the same year --
the documents that gave rise to the IACHR in 1959.
However, Cuba is not part of another agreement in 1969 that created the
Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights, meaning that
neither side can take the IACHR report to that tribunal for a more
binding decision.
The Cuban American Bar Association and the rights group Cuban Democratic
Directory acted as plaintiffs for the jailed dissidents, filing their
complaint shortly after the 2003 crackdown. They argued the defendants
were forced to use court-appointed lawyers and were allowed just hours
to prepare their defenses. They were subject to solitary confinement,
beatings and other abuses, according to the 78-page report.
The IACHR says Cuba also denied the defendants their right to a fair and
public trial and humane treatment in jail, among other violations. It
also condemned Cuba for laws that limit the rights of freedom of
expression and opinion.
The commission berated Cuba for not using ''a judicial approach'' to
prove the charges against the dissidents. It cites one case where a
flier listing generally recognized human and civil rights was used as
proof to show the defendant was seeking to destabilize the country.
VENEZUELA DEFENDS
The Venezuelan representative on the IACHR, Freddy Gutiérrez, wrote the
sole dissenting opinion, saying the legal arguments were ''weak and
inconsistent'' and that Cuba's 1962 suspension meant the country had no
representation in the OAS.
Lorenzo Copello, Bárbaro Sevilla and Jorge Martínez were executed by
firing squad on April 11. The family members were never informed of the
trial and were not allowed to see the bodies afterwards.
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