A new campaign by CSW is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Cuban Protestant Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo, who has been detained without trial for over two months following the peaceful protests that emerged across Cuba on 11 July.

Pastor Rosales Fajardo was detained by State Security officers on 11 July during peaceful protests in Palma Soriano, and was transferred to the Boniato Maximum Security Prison outside the city of Santiago de Cuba in August. He faces charges including ‘disrespect’ and ‘public disorder’ which carry a prison sentence of between three and 20 years. He has not been allowed visits from his wife and has only been permitted a few three-minute phone calls with his family. He has been held incommunicado for most of his detention.

His wife, Maridilegnis Carballo, has been told that the couple’s 17-year-old son, who was arrested with his father but later released, will face repercussions if she continues to speak out about her husband’s plight. She has also been threatened with imprisonment herself for speaking to international human rights organisations about her husband’s unjust detention.

Pastor Rosales Fajardo has worked as a pastor for 20 years. In 2012, the government confiscated his church property. The couple were eventually able to buy another home and led the Monte de Sion church, where between 80 and 100 people congregated weekly before the pastor’s detention.

Members of the public are encouraged to join the campaign to send an email to the Cuban ambassador the UK about the pastor’s case and add their names to a petition that will be delivered to the embassy on 30 September.

CSW’s Head of Campaigns Dave Mance said: “Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo has now spent over two months in prison in horrible conditions simply for participating in peaceful protests. CSW continues to call for his immediate and unconditional release, and we urge everyone who cares about justice to stand with us in sending a message to Cuba that the world is watching and that their treatment of Pastor Rosales Fajardo will not be tolerated.”

Note to Editors:

1.       Click here to view the campaign and sign the petition.