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Youth Arbitrarily Detained in Guantanamo
By Cuban Democratic Directorate

Prison authorities use tear gas to silence their anti-government slogans

Guantanamo. August 30, 2008. Cuban Democratic Directorate. Young activists, members of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy were arbitrarily detained on August 30 and 31 in the City of Guantanamo.

Young Cuban Enyor Díaz Allen was at his home exercising his freedom of expression, manifesting his opinions against the Castro regime when he was detained on August 30 by National Revolutionary Police agents.

The next day, Yordi García Fournier and Isael Poveda Silva were detained while visiting Díaz Allen on August 31 at the police unit he was being held. The youth had gone to the station to take him a packet of cigarettes when they were detained by authorities.

According to information provided to the Cuban Democratic Directorate by Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina, director of the Center for Alternative Studies of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, the activists began shouting from the prison cell “Down with Fidel” and “Down with Raul”. Authorities responded by using tear gas to silence them.

Enyor Díaz Allen was freed on the morning of September 1^st with a fine of 30 Cuban pesos under the charge of “public disorder”. However, Yordi García Fournier and Isael Poveda Silva are still under arrest with unjust charges of “resistance”. According to the source, both activists are being tried in summary proceedings this Wednesday afternoon, September 3, 2008. Cuban officials have yet to provide a clear response to their families, which makes it nearly impossible to find defense attorneys for the trial.

“This is another manipulated trick by the State Security against young Cubans who maintain a courageous attitude, a vertical position against the Castro brothers’ dictatorship and this is the situation that is happening now,” stated Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina and also affirmed “the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy calls upon the International Youth Committee for Democracy in Cuba and all human rights organizations so that they may denounce this repression and call for the immediate release of these young Cubans.”

Upon writing this release, authorities informed Poveda Silva’s family that he will be charged with “disobedience”, information that the detained activist had yet to receive.

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