Cuban pastor Omar Gude Perez, who was granted conditional release from a
six-and-a-half year prison sentence in February, was informed by judges
in early March that under the conditions of his release, he is
prohibited from preaching and has had his movements confined to the city
of Camaguey.
Pastor Gude Perez, a leader of a fast growing network of independent
churches, was convicted in a summary trial in July 2009 on trumped up
charges of "falsification of documents".
The charge of "falsification of documents" was based on accusations that
he had illegally taken his stepfather's surname. However, once it was
decided to grant him conditional liberty, according to Gude Perez, the
courts took almost a month to define the conditions of his release
because official records show that his legal surname is indeed Gude
Perez, contradicting the original court decision that led to his
conviction and prison sentence.
He was originally detained in May 2008 and charged with "human
trafficking", charges which were later thrown out as baseless by judges
in Havana. He and his family believe he was targeted because of his
leadership position in the church network, which has been denied
official recognition.
Speaking to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Gude Perez described
the conditions during his time in jail as "torturous", explaining that
his weight dropped 60 pounds (27.2 kilogrammes) over the course of 56
days. As punishment for sharing his faith with his fellow prisoners, he
was moved to a cell with the most violent criminals who told him they
had been given the green light by prison officials to attack him
physically. Pastor Gude Perez's experience matches that of other
prisoners of conscience, who consistently report being intentionally
housed with violent inmates.
CSW's National Director Stuart Windsor said, "We are relieved to learn
that Pastor Gude Perez has finally been released from prison after
spending almost three years there, in horrendous conditions, on false
charges. We are deeply concerned that as a condition of his release,
Pastor Gude Perez has been prohibited from preaching, although this also
exposes the government's motives behind its persecution of him. We call
on the Cuban government once again to clear the charges against him,
allow churches associated with the Apostolic Movement to register
formally, and to allow Pastor Gude Perez to exercise his right to
practise and share his religious beliefs."
http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/article.asp?t=press&id=1144&search=
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