Cuban Government Charge Independent Church Leaders With 'Criminal Activity'
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
CUBA (ANS) -- A church leader from a fast growing independent Church
movement in Cuba is being accused of criminal activity by the Government
just one month after a Pastor from the same group was sentenced to six
years in prison.
According to the UK-based human rights group, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW), this follows the recent detention at least sixty
pastors and leaders in May and June.
"Alexi Perez has been in prison for over a month accused of illicit
economic activity. Although the original charges against him have been
dropped, he now faces a new charge of illegally receiving construction
materials," said a CSW spokesperson.
"Alexi Perez oversees a group of around 100 church members (out of a
total of 800), at the Apostolic Evangelical Church in San Jose de las
Lajas in Havana Province."
In July, Pastor Omar Gude Perez, again from the Apostolic Movement, was
sentenced to six years in prison. He had spent fourteen months in jail
without trial prior to sentencing, and the charges against him had been
changed on two occasions.
CSW said that around sixty other pastors and leaders from the Apostolic
Movement have reported being temporarily detained and threatened on
charges of "social dangerousness" in two sweeps between May and June
this year.
CSW's Advocacy Director, Alexa Papadouris said: "The imprisonment of
Alexi Perez appears to be part of a pattern of government repression of
churches associated with the Apostolic Movement. We call on the Cuban
government to immediately release Alexi Perez and Omar Gude Perez, and
to cease their harassment of the Apostolic Movement.
"We also call on the international community, in particular the European
Union, to remind the Cuban government of its obligations under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to push them to
ratify this treaty, and to ensure that the rights guaranteed in the
treaty, including religious freedom, are upheld and respected."
Note: CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious
freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs
and promotes religious liberty for all. For more information, go to
www.csw.org.uk
Cuban Government Charge Independent Church Leaders With 'Criminal
Activity' (21 August 2009)
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2009/s09080148.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment