The Homo Homini Award for human rights has been given to 11 Cuban dissidents People in Need Prague, 5 February 2016
They decided to not emigrate, even after their own government tried to force them.
The Homo Homini Award for 2015 has been given to a group of eleven Cuban dissidents for their perseverance, fearlessness and moral fortitute in pushing for human rights in Cuba, while willingly sacrificing their own personal freedom. “The prize has been awarded to eleven former political prisoners who, despite the pressure from the regime to emigrate, remained on the island and have continued to fight for greater freedom for the Cuban people. For us, these people symbolize all Cuban dissidents, political prisoners and activists who are and have been campaigning for democratic reforms. In this regard, all of them deserve our support,” said Simon Panek, the Executive Director of People in Need.
The prize is traditionally awarded during the opening ceremony of the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, which will be held on 7 March 2016 at the Prague Crossroads. The opening ceremony starts at 19:00.
“It was clear to me that I have to stay in Cuba and continue to fight for democracy. I knew it would not be easy and there would be no going back, but I have never regretted my decision and I never will, “says Jorge Olivera, one of the awarded dissidents, who is a writer and journalist.
In 2003, during the so-called Black Spring, the Castro regime arrested 75 of the most prominent Cuban dissidents and sentenced them to harsh prison sentences ranging from 6 to 28 years. Thanks to the substantial international pressure, most of the 75 prisoners were released early in 2010. The regime subsequently exerted a strong pressure on them to go into exile. These eleven people decided to stay in Cuba, despite the daily threats, harassment and bullying, and have continued to fight for human rights and freedoms on the island.
“The prize is a big commitment and a new strong motivation for our work for democracy in Cuba,” said Jorge Olivera.
According to the government of the Castros, this group of released prisoners in Cuba represents a security risk. Their freedoms are restricted. For example, the regime does not allow them to leave and come back like other Cubans, for whom travel has already gotten easier. Their freedom is dependent on the basis of institutional paroles, which basically means, that until the length of their original sentences expire, which will be between 2024 and 2028, they can be sent back to prison at any time.
Current Day Cuba
In December 2014, Cuba announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with the US. The news brought increased attention from the international community. Subsequently, Cuba has been visited by many politicians and investors from around the globe, and the regime has been fairly successful in convincing the world that the country is keen to open up and slowly transform itself into a democracy. Unfortunately, except for the opening of the American embassy in Cuba, the year 2015 didn’t bring too many positive changes. In the second half of the year, the number of arbitrary detentions of activists even increased – for example, almost 1500 people were detained for a short period of time in November. In Cuba, there are still between 27 and 30 known political prisoners; space for civil society remains extremely limited; critical independent organizations are unable to benefit from being registered and, therefore, cannot work openly in the country though no one other than the state media is actually allowed to do so.
The 11 Award winners are:
Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, Jorge Olivera Castillo, Ángel Juan Moya Acosta, José Daniel Ferrer García, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, Iván Hernández Carrillo, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Óscar Elías Biscet González, Eduardo Díaz Fleitas, Librado Ricardo Linares García, and Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique
Homo Homini
People in Need has given the Homo Homini Award annually to individuals or groups who have made contributions to the promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solutions for political conflicts. The prize was first awarded in 1994. Among those who have worn the prize in the past are: the Azerbaijani lawyer Intigam Aliyev; a Kyrgyz defender of the unjustly prosecuted Azimžan Askarov; Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize) and Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, who died in unexplained circumstances three years ago. Unfortunately, a number of the award holders remain behind bars for political reasons in their countries.
People in Need in Cuba
People in Need has been working in Cuba since 1997, when it began supporting dissidents and political prisoners. With the changing situation on the island, People in Need has been increasingly focused on supporting the activities of independent civil society groups and journalists. It remains dedicated to monitoring human rights violations on the island and defending the rights of the politically persecuted.
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