Ex political prisoner refuses to comply with police citation

When political police agents showed up at the home of former political prisoner of conscience Ivan Hernandez Carrillo in the city of Colon, Matanzas, this 20th of March, his mother Asuncion Carrillo was the one who opened the door.  Ivan was not home, so Asuncion refused to receive the police citation they were bringing for her son which ordered that he had to show up to the local police unit on the following day.  However, Hernandez Carrillo quickly took to his Twitter account (@ivanlibre) to make it very clear to the agents that he would not go to any police unit.  

“I respect what each person choses to do, but I am not going to any police unit with or without a citation“, said Ivan, “They are going to have to arrest me and drag me through the street to take me to a police unit, but I am not going to comply with any citations to see any police chief so that he treat me like a delinquent and criminal, because I am neither of those things“.

Due to the information he constantly reports through Twitter and photos, videos, and audios, the political police constantly watches this former prisoner of conscience. When he is not being persecuted by some State Security agent, many times his cell phone is blocked or his calls are interrupted.

When Thursday arrived, Ivan stayed true to his word; he did not cooperate with the orders of the police.

Dissidents Juan Francisco Rangel and Lázaro Díaz Sánchez, from Colon, were also summoned for the same day- Rangel at 11 AM and Diaz Sanchez at 2 PM.  Both were interrogated by agent Raudel, with the same accusations and threats as always because of their pro-freedom activism.

“Like I said, I respect the decisions of everyone, but my own is that I will not go to any unit“, emphasized Hernandez Carrillo.

As of now, the renown dissident has not suffered repercussions because of his decision, although it is assumed that the State will continue to harass him.  Regardless, his decision proves that power lies in the citizen, not in the repressive bodies of the regime.

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* Special thanks to activist María Cama (@mspianoteacher) for this information 

For more information from Cuba, contact: 
Iván Hernández Carrillo – Cell Phone: +52-599-366 / Twitter: @ivanlibre 

Tweet of the Day

Ivan Hernandez Carrillo and his mother, Asuncion Carrillo

Today’s “Tweet of the Day” comes from independent journalist and former political prisoner Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, after being interrogated by the political police for various hours along with his elderly mother, the Lady in White Asuncion Carrillo.  Ivan and Asuncion were traveling from their province of residence, Matanzas, to Havana with the purpose of participating in an event to which they were invited to by the US Interests Section to celebrate the 4th of July, American independence day.  From the moment they set out from their town of Colon to the capital, various police agents were persecuting them, walking behind them and watching their every move. When they tried to board a vehicle, the agents told the driver he could not take them, so he drove away. After a while, Ivan and his mother were able to board a national bus but the police agents followed them in.    Throughout the ride, the police agents were photographing the activist and his mother, as well as mocking them.  Eventually, things culminated in an interrogation/detention after the bus ride, where the agents even openly admitted that they tap Ivan’s phone conversations.

One of Ivan’s responses after being released was the following Tweet:

[Translation]:  When we Cubans achieve freedom, we will never celebrate January 1st .  That day will be remembered with gloom in our nation.

(Note: January 1st 1959 was when Fidel Castro seized power and installed the dictatorship which still stands today.  Castro declared the date a national “holiday”)

Follow Ivan on Twitter! @ivanlibre