URGENT ACTION: ACTIVISTS HELD WITHOUT CHARGE

16.12.2011

Human rights activists Ivonne Malleza Galano and her husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo

continue to be held without charge since their arrest on 30 November. They were

detained for staging a peaceful demonstration in a park in Havana City, Cuba.

Cuban authorities held

Ivonne Malleza Galano

incommunicado for 10 days after she was arrested at Fraternity

Park in Havana City on 30 November. On 10 December, she was allowed a phone call to inform family and friends

of her whereabouts. She is currently held at the Alternative Center for Processing Detainees (

Centro Alternativo de

Procesamiento de Detenidos

), located in the southern outskirts of Havana City. Ignacio Martínez Montejo

, who

was also arrested at the demonstration, is being held at the same location.

Relatives were allowed to visit Ivonne Malleza Galano and Ignacio Martínez Montejo on the morning of 12

December. They were told by staff at the Alternative Center for Processing Detainees that Ivonne Malleza Galana

and Ignacio Martínez Montejo are being accused of public disorder and could be investigated for up to 60 days.

However, they have not yet been formally charged or informed of the reasons for their ongoing detention.

If, as it seems, Ivonne Malleza Galano and Ignacio Martínez Montejo have been detained solely for exercising their

right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, they are prisoners of conscience, and should be released

immediately and unconditionally

n

Calling on the Cuban authorities to charge Ivonne Malleza Galano and Ignacio Martínez Montejo with

recognizable criminal offences or release them immediately;

n

Asking them to ensure that anyone charged is given a fair trial in compliance with international standards;

n

Urging the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly in

Cuba.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 24 JANUARY 2012 TO:

Head of State and Government

Raúl Castro Ruz

Presidente de la República de Cuba

La Havana, Cuba

Fax: +537 83 33 085 (via Foreign

Ministry);+1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban

Mission to UN)

Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission

to UN)

Salutation: Su Excelencia / Your

Excellency

Attorney General

Dr Juan Escalona Reguer

Fiscalía General de la República,

San Rafael 3, La Habana, Cuba

Salutation: Señor Fiscal General /

Dear Attorney General

And copies to

:

Interior Minister

General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra

Ministro del Interior y Prisiones

Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución,

La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +537 85 56 621, +1 212 779 1697

(via Cuban Mission to UN)

Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 355/11. Further information:

http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR25/006/2011/en