{"id":29820,"date":"2024-03-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/press\/un-working-group-rules-that-detention-of-pastor-lorenzo-rosales-fajardo-is-6191\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:11:00","slug":"un-working-group-rules-that-detention-of-pastor-lorenzo-rosales-fajardo-is-6191","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/press\/un-working-group-rules-that-detention-of-pastor-lorenzo-rosales-fajardo-is-6191\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Working Group rules that detention of Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo is arbitrary"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/96ea4ba7af68d1a11fcefa530ec187a5.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The United Nations (UN) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/special-procedures\/wg-arbitrary-detention\">Working Group on Arbitrary Detention<\/a> has adopted the opinion that the detention of Cuban Protestant pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo is arbitrary.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/issues\/detention-wg\/opinions\/session98\/a-hcr-wgad-73-2023-cuba-aev.pdf\">document<\/a> dated 16 February 2024 and made public this week, the Working Group ruled the deprivation of liberty of Pastor Rosales Fajardo contravenes Articles 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and therefore meets the Working Group\u2019s standards for arbitrary detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pastor Rosales Fajardo was violently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/2021\/8\/3\/presionar\/5363\/\">arrested<\/a> after participating in peaceful protests that took place across Cuba on 11 July 2021. He was tried and convicted of charges of \u2018disrespect\u2019, \u2018assault\u2019, \u2018criminal incitement\u2019 and \u2018public disorder\u2019 on 20 and 21 December 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May 2022 he and his family were informed that he had been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/2022\/05\/05\/presionar\/5691\/article.htm\/\">sentenced<\/a> to seven years in prison, which was one year less than the eight-year sentence that was initially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/2022\/04\/07\/presionar\/5673\/article.htm\/\">communicated<\/a> in a document sent from the Permanent Mission of Cuba in Geneva to the UN. He was initially held in Boniato Maximum Security Prison, but in early 2023 his family reported that he had been moved to a minimum-security prison closer to their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its ruling, the Working Group calls on the government of Cuba \u2018to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation\u2019 of Pastor Rosales Fajardo, adding \u2018taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Rosales Fajardo immediately, and to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Working Group also encourages the government to \u2018ensure a full and independent investigation\u2019 into the circumstances of Pastor Rosales Fajardo\u2019s detention, and refers the case to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the right to freedom of religion or belief, and on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, for appropriate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CSW\u2019s Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said: <b><i>\u2018CSW welcomes the ruling of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention which confirms that there was no justifiable basis for Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo\u2019s 2021 arrest, and he should not be in prison. It is imperative that the Government of Cuba take heed of the Working Group\u2019s recommendations. We urge UN Member States to hold it to account should it fail to do so.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has adopted the opinion that the detention of Cuban Protestant pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo is arbitrary.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43956,"template":"","categories":[],"regions":[140,137],"class_list":["post-29820","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-cuba","regions-latin-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40404,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/29820\/revisions\/40404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29820"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=29820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}