Reverend Juan Carlos Núñez
Velázquez from Las Tunas in eastern Cuba is awaiting the outcome of his appeal
against his one-year sentence of house arrest.
He was found guilty on 21 October of violating
the environmental protection law following complaints from neighbours that his
church’s sound system was too loud. Reverend Núñez Velázquez was only
given two days notice of his court date and his lawyer did not have adequate
time to prepare his defence. During the trial, Reverend Núñez Velázquez was
only allowed four witnesses, while the prosecution had ten.
Reverend Núñez Velázquez was due to appear in
court on 28 October to hear the exact conditions of his house arrest, however
as a result of the appeal he filed on 25 October, the hearing was cancelled and
while he awaits the outcome of the appeal he is currently able to leave his
house.
Reverend Núñez Velázquez’s church belongs to the Apostolic
Movement, an unregistered network of Protestant churches. The church building,
which was located on his
private property, was demolished on
8 January and since then the church has been forced to
meet in the courtyard of the house.
On 23 September, Reverend Núñez Velázquez was
notified by the Environmental Organisation (CITMA) that his neighbours had
complained that his church’s sound system was too loud during Sunday services.
However, the sound system used by the church adheres to environmental
regulations and at no point did CITMA officially assess the sound system for
its compliance to the legislation before bringing charges. In addition, from 22
to 25 September 2016, around the time the accusations were brought against Rev.
Núñez Velázquez, local carnivals were held in Las Tunas, during which loud
music was playing 24 hours a day.
On 26 September, Reverend Núñez Velázquez was
made to sign a precautionary measure which stipulated that he had to seek
official permission to leave his city. Sources inform Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW) that Reverend Núñez Velázquez’s neighbours were encouraged by
the authorities to complain about the church. This is not unusual. CSW’s recent briefing on
freedom of religion or belief in Cuba states that government agents sometimes
try to instigate community hostility towards a local church: “In one case in
Santiago, government agents employed neighbours to carry out surveillance on
the church leaders by following them and taking photographs of them.”
During
the church service on 30 October, the neighbours who accused Reverend Núñez Velázquez of having the church sound
system too loud, lit candles which released lots of smoke during the church service
and caused church members, including children, to cough profusely. However, the
church was able to finish the service.
CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “CSW is
deeply concerned at the unjust treatment of Reverend Núñez Velázquez and calls
for his sentence to be overturned. We urge the Cuban government to halt its
harassment of the Apostolic Movement denomination. We further call on the EU and the US to insist that improvements in freedom
of religion or belief and other human rights in Cuba are a central part of any
dialogue with the Cuban government.’’