The independent human rights organization, ARTICLE 19, demanded that the Cuban regime end the repression against the activist. Neuris Norberto Rodríguez Suárez, victim of threats and harassment, currently "regulated" and unable to leave Cuba.
"We ask the Cuban authorities to guarantee the safety of Neuris Norberto, as well as that the Ministry of the Interior recognizes its responsibility and repairs the damage caused by the violation of the activist's right of free movement," the organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the right to freedom of expression.
ARTICLE 19 observes with concern the immigration restriction to leave Cuba imposed on the activist on February 12, the date on which Rodríguez Suárez was intercepted by the Cuban immigration authorities at the José Martí airport when he was on his way to take a flight to Mexico to receive training.
The customs personnel at said air terminal informed him that he was “regulated,” a figure in the legal system of the Cuban totalitarian regime that primarily applies to activists, journalists and opponents whom it considers to be dangerous to national security, who are prevented from leave the country.
According to the testimony offered by the activist to the organization - collected in his statement-, the authorities did not inform him in advance of his situation, but rather he was notified at the airport itself when he was preparing to board a flight for which he already had a ticket.
Likewise, he denounced the aggressiveness and threats made by an agent of the Department of State Security (DSE), who subjected him to an interrogation.
“We are going to destroy your life, in fact we are not going to violate your rights, we are not going to touch you, because we are going to give you the option of committing suicide”; “It would be very easy if you suffered an accident,” “you will only be able to get out by boat or by committing suicide,” were some of the intimidating phrases uttered by the repressors.
This is not the first time that Rodríguez Suárez has been a victim of the regime's institutionalized repression. ARTICLE 19 has recorded attacks against him since 2019, based on his participation in demonstrations in his province, Matanzas.
The activist was one of the signatories of a letter sent in February 2021 to the United States Congress and the governments of that country and Cuba, indicating that the latter should normalize relations with its citizens, as a premise to normalize them with the world.
“Those of us who sign this letter are members of the different sectors of Cuban society, people with different ideologies and political positions, but moved by the same desire for a democratic, prosperous and respectful of all rights Cuba,” stated the letter signed by more of 300 Cubans.
Rodríguez Suárez also was one of the victims identified by the non-governmental organization Cubalex in mid-November 2021, in the midst of the regime's repressive wave due to the platform's call Archipelago to make a Civic March for Change.
On that occasion, the NGO dedicated to the protection of human rights on the island documented 53 acts of harassment against Cuban civil society, among which it mentioned a police summons to Neuris Norberto Rodríguez Suárez, issued in Matanzas.
Other actions documented by Cubalex They consisted of surveillance fences and homes besieged by State Security, arrests, threats, interrogations, deployment of troops, among others.
“We urge the Cuban government to comply with the recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in its 2020 report 'Situation of human rights in Cuba', in which it urgently calls for an end to harassment, threats, attacks, stigmatization persecution and criminalization by state actors against dissidents, activists, human rights defenders and journalists,” ARTICLE 19 expressed in its statement on Friday.
The Cuban regime "regulates" activists inside Cuba, but also those who are outside and wish to return to the island - such as the case of the teachers. Anamely Ramos González and Omara Ruis Urquiola-, protected by the current Immigration Law, which gives them the power to decide on the right of people to enter and leave the country, violating their right to free circulation and movement.
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