On December 12 this month, 23 activists were violently detained in the house of one of them. The political police entered violently. The population, seeing all these days cases of extreme violence of the police towards the human rights activists of the UNPACU in Santiago de Cuba, got mad and began stoning the policemen.
One of the stones hit the face of a member of the Ministry of the Interior, which had to be was admitted to the local hospital by the effects of the blow.
Jesús Martínez Quintana, a non-UNPACU activist, neighbour of Altamira, Santiago de Cuba, was an exceptional witness. He was a few meters away from the hit, and saw both the stone path and the moment it hit on the face of the official.
6 activists of the UNPACU are being accused of “causing the environment” that led neighbors to throw stones to the political police, and now try to delve into the possibilities of blaming the activists about what happened, trying to manipulate the testimony of the witness intimidating him.
Jesús Martínez Quintana spoke with the UNPACU via telephone and told us what happened: Click here for the audio, and transcript.
After the stoning of a member of the Ministry of the Interior by the population:
CUBAN POLICE MANIPULATE AND INTIMIDATE A WITNESS WHO SAW THE ORIGIN OF AGGRESSION BY THE POPULATION TOWARDS AN OFFICIAL OF THE STATE SECURITY
Jesús Martínez Quintana, neighboring the district of Altamira, in Santiago de Cuba, declares how he saw clearly that the stone came from a place opposite to the house where the UNPACU activists were retained.
Political police arose in his house with his family and tried to press him. After this, they cited him in police units to take his statement.
Upon arrival, Jesús Martínez Quintana, who is not an UNPACU activist, found that the police had prepared a statement for him to sign. After refusing to sign acts that did not conform to the truth, the witness requested a statement to be taken with the truth. Five hours, from 8:30 to 13:00, on which he stood his ground to declare the truth of the facts.
While we had an interview via telephone, Jesús Martínez Quintana tells us that at that time there was a State security officer watching him closely.
As we have been informed, the agent who is watching Jesús Martínez Quintana calls himself agent “Fran”.
If you want to call Jesús Martínez Quintana, you can do so through Rebeca Santiago, in + 53 58 10 0181.
In an earlier statement, UNPACU strongly denounced violence, and reiterated the groups peaceful nature and commitment to non-violent resistance only.
POPULATION OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA STONED THE STATE SECURITY FORCES
The State Security Forces have declare, but we give no credibility to the statement, an official of the Ministry of the Interior would have died in this skirmish between the population and the State Security forces in the neighborhood of Altamira. However, it seems he this is still alive and has been in the hospital for damages of the stoning of neighbors.
The UNPACU condemns the use of any act of violence against the State Security Forces and Political Police.
The struggle of the UNPACU is peaceful, our activists are trained in courses on the subject, and the sum to the denunciation of the rights of the Cuban people should follow the peaceful course to avoid fratricide and seek a peaceful transition based on the reconciliation of the people of Cuba.The State Security Forces have been quick to blame the UNPACU activists, when they were even longer in the scene.
There have also been injuries among paramilitary government forces which, completely intoxicated by alcohol, exerted violence and threw stones in Maffo, Contramaestre, one of them affecting their own ranks.