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US GOVERNMENTS REPORTS |
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16 April 2003
OAS Commission
Condemns Cuban Government's Executions of Three Persons
(Human rights body says executions did not allow for due process)
(480)
Washington -- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has condemned
the Cuban government's execution of three men charged with the hijacking of
a passenger ferry boat in Havana and taking its passengers hostage.
In an April 16 statement, the commission said the imposition of the death
penalty by firing squad against the accused hijackers, following a short
trial, did not provide for due process, and as a result, "their execution is
converted into the arbitrary deprivation of life." The commission is the
principal body of the Organization of American States (OAS) for protecting
human rights in the Western Hemisphere.
The three accused hijackers had been tried in the Cuban courts "for very
grave acts of terrorism" and were given death sentences, based on what the
Cuban government said was endangering the lives of innocent persons and the
country's security.
The OAS denunciation of the executions follows remarks by Jeane Kirkpatrick,
head of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, in which
she criticized the Cuban government's recent imposition of long prison
sentences on 75 human rights dissidents.
In her comments April 14, Kirkpatrick said that "a second quality of Cuban
justice" could be seen during the summary trial and execution of the three
Cubans charged with the attempted hijacking of the passenger ferry.
Kirkpatrick said no one was hurt in the attempted hijacking, except the
three persons executed. "Yes, they committed a crime, but they, like
everyone, deserved due process and a reasonable sentence," she said.
The hijackers, armed with a handgun and knives, took command of the boat in
Havana Bay April 2 and set a course for Florida, taking a number of
passengers with them. The boat ran out of fuel in international waters,
after which the hijackers agreed to return to Cuba for refueling. It was
there that the Cuban authorities regained control of the boat.
The OAS commission condemned the imposition of the death penalty on the
grounds that it did not follow a number of legal requirements allowing for
due process, including the fact that a final judgment should be "rendered by
a competent court and in accordance with a law establishing such punishment,
enacted prior to the commission of the crime."
Also denouncing the executions was the human rights organization Amnesty
International, which said it marked "another blow to respect for human
rights" in Cuba.
"Coming on the heels of mass arrest and summary trials of at least 75 Cuban
dissidents -- most of whom received shockingly lengthy prison terms ranging
up to 28 years -- these executions mark a serious erosion in Cuba's human
rights record," said Amnesty International. It added that the three men were
shot and killed less than a week after their trial began.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) |
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