Authorities deny pastor’s son conscientious objection to military service

Officials in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, are attempting to force the adult son of the pastors of an unregistered church to complete military service, in rejection of his request to be exempt due to his conscientious objection to taking up arms based on his religious beliefs.

In a video message shared with CSW on 6 March, Pastor Ibrahim Rosabal Viamonte said: ‘We just received news that they want to take my son to be part of this country’s repressive apparatus; to force him into military service. We have nothing to defend here. He is being summoned right now, summoned for military service… They did it by telephone and the man threatened to carry out an operation [against us]. And he has not simply threatened us with death here; if anything happens in [our house], they will come looking for us.’

Pastor Rosabal and his wife Nercy Cabrera Vasquez lead the unregistered Jehovah Our Justice Apostolic Ministry Church in Palma Soriano and have experienced years of threats and harassment at the hands of the authorities. Their son, David Rosabal Cabrera, 23, is married with two children.

In a second message shared with CSW on 6 March, Pastor Rosabal reported that the local police chief had come to the family home and threatened to carry out an operation to take David away, ‘whether he wants it or not… at nighttime, at dawn, whatever.’

Changes made to Cuba’s constitution following a referendum in February 2019 made it illegal to invoke conscientious objection with the ‘intention of evading compliance with the law.’ Cuba has signed but not ratified theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), from which the United Nations Human Rights Committeeclarified in 1993 that the right to conscientious objection could be derived under Article 18, ‘inasmuch as the obligation to use lethal force may seriously conflict with the freedom of conscience and the right to manifest one’s religion or belief’.

CSW’s Director of Advocacy and Americas Team Leader Anna Lee Stangl said: ‘CSW calls on the Cuban authorities to cease their harassment of David Rosabal Cabrera and his family, and to respect his right to conscientious objection. We also urge Cuba to fully ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international treaties that it has signed, and to bring its constitution and legal framework into line with international law.’