Cuba: CSW condemns Pastors prison sentence

A Cuban Evangelical pastor has been sentenced to six years in prison despite credible claims that he was falsely charged due to his leadership role in the ‘Apostolic Reformation’, a fast growing Christian organisation.

The pastor’s family home will also be confiscated as part of the sentence, which was published locally on Thursday 9 July 2009.

Pastor Omar Gude Perez was initially detained on 22 May 2008 and was in prison awaiting a trial date for over a year.

State prosecutors initially attempted to charge Pastor Gude Perez with “Human Trafficking”. Although these charges were dropped in March 2009 after a court in Camaguey ruled there was no evidence, Pastor Gude Perez was still not released from prison.

In mid-April new charges of Falsification of Documents and IIlicit Economic Activities were filed. The prosecution’s petition also accused the pastor of “counter-revolutionary conduct and attitudes.”

Pastor Omar Gude Perez’s wife Kenia has informed Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) that false documents and testimonies were presented in court. CSW has also received reliable information indicating that more than twenty other church leaders were temporarily arrested and threatened in the last two months. Some were detained just before Pastor Gude Perez’s court hearing in May, indicating an attempt by the authorities to prevent a show of support for the pastor at his hearing.

There has been an increase in reported violations of religious liberty since Raul Castro took power in early 2008, and the heavy sentence handed to Pastor Gude Perez follows a pattern of mounting state hostility towards religious groups. For example, for the past nine months Reverend Roberto Rodriguez, a denominational leader, based in Placetas, has also been subjected to ongoing legal proceedings on trumped up charges. Last week he received a fourth citation commanding him to present himself to the local courts.

The legal harassment of Reverend Rodriguez and his family began after the Interdenominational Fellowship of Evangelical Pastors and Ministers in Cuba (Spanish acronym; CIMPEC) withdrew from the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC) last October while under Reverend Rodriguez’s leadership.

Alexa Papadouris, CSW’s Advocacy Director said: “In light of the evidence given by CSW’s partners, we strongly condemn Pastor Omar Gude Perez’s prison sentence and call on the Cuban Government to immediately investigate and review his case. We urge the Cuban authorities to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and remind them of the protections, in particular religious freedom, laid out in the that document”.

Notes to Editors:

• The “Apostolic Reformation” group is comprised of indepedent self-governing non-denominational churches, and as it is outside of traditionally and officially recognised denominations, it is viewed with suspicion by the government.