Omar Gude Perez faces seven year sentence

A State prosecutor has requested a seven-year prison sentence be given to Pastor Omar Gude Perez, currently imprisoned in Camaguey, Cuba, on charges of “illicit economic activity and falsification of documents.” Those close to him, however, believe he is being targeted because of his religious activity and leadership of a rapidly growing Christian movement. The prosecutor’s petition goes on to accuse the pastor of “counter-revolutionary conduct and attitudes”.

Pastor Gude Perez, a leader of a non-denominational, non-political religious movement in Cuba known as the “Apostolic Reformation,” has already spent almost one year in prison without being given a trial. He was first detained on 22 May 2008, and authorities originally attempted to charge him with “human trafficking.” These charges were thrown out last month, however, by a local court citing a complete lack of evidence. The case was then referred to Havana and last week the family was notified of the new charges.

The pastor’s wife says the new charges are merely an attempt to disguise the fact that he is a victim of religious persecution. She and others familiar with the case point to the fact that he and the family received threats and warnings to curtail their religious activities from government officials for months prior to his detention. A number of other leaders and members of their religious group have also received threats and been harassed by the authorities.

Since Raul Castro took power in early 2008, there has been an increase in reported violations of religious liberty. Another pastor and denominational leader, Reverend Roberto Rodriguez, of Placetas, Cuba has also been the subject of legal proceedings against him and members of his family. This appears to be in retaliation for the withdrawal of the church group which Reverend Rodriguez leads from the Cuban Council of Churches in Autumn 2008.

Reverend Stuart Windsor, National Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said, “The imprisonment of Pastor Gude Perez is a clear case of religious persecution and is part of a larger crackdown on religious groups in Cuba. We call on the Cuban authorities to release him immediately and, in line with the protections laid out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which it signed last year, to guarantee the right to religious freedom for all groups.”