Cubalex states that its work is in ‘danger’

Cubalex states that its work is in 'danger' / 14ymedio
Posted on March 23, 2015

14ymedio, 22 March 2015 – Last Friday the Cubalex Center for Legal
Information circulated a statement in which they report that their work
is in "danger." The independent entity said that after their
presentation of "a report about Cuban prisons, the campaigns of
defamation and harassment increased" toward their members.

In the text there is reference to a robbery that occurred in Cubalex's
offices on March 12, when "unidentified people broke in and (…) stole a
laptop, a tablet, an iPod, a modem, an external hard disk, several flash
memories and computer parts."

The statement goes on to say that "the fact that no other objects of
value were stolen, only those that could contain information about the
work of the organization, leads one to assume (…) that the aggressors
came on the part of the state authorities."

In recent months Cubalex has reported being a "target of a smear
campaign that includes libelous notes accusing the organization of
corruption." The texts are published on the Internet, most of the time
anonymously or without specifying the source of the complaint.

Laritza Diversent, attorney and member of Cubalex, reports that since
2013 there has been "increased surveillance, harassment and threats
against members of the team." The lawyer explained that the pressure on
the group increased after the presentation of the report on the
detainees in Cuba, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The harassment includes "threats to prosecute the family members of the
Cubalex team and to confiscate the building where the office is located."

Given this context, in its statement Cubalex demands that the Cuban
government "guarantee and protect the work of organizations and leaders
engaged civil society of in defense of human rights." In addition, it
asks "the international community to rule in favor of the guarantees of
our work."

The Cubalex Center for Legal Information is headquartered in Havana and
is considered a non-profit organization not recognized by the Cuban
state. It has offered free legal advice since 2010, concerning the
legalization of housing, immigration procedures, inheritance, labor,
criminal review processes, constitutional procedures and the defense of
civil and political rights of Cuban or foreign citizens who ask them.

Source: Cubalex states that its work is in 'danger' / 14ymedio |
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