Religious Freedom Defender Released

A prominent Cuban advocate for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), Leonardo Rodríguez Alonso, has been released from detention today.

He was detainedon 28 February and held without charge in the Provincial Unit for Investigations in the city of Santa Clara until 2 March. Rodríguez Alonso had been arrested on his way home to Villa Clara from the town of Caibarién, where he was leading meetings with human rights defenders.

Rodríguez Alonso is a regional coordinator for the Patmos Institute, an independent civil society organization that promotes inter-religious dialogue and FoRB for all.

Anna-Lee Stangl, Americas Team Leader at CSW, said: “We were very happy to learn of the release of Leonardo Rodríguez Alonso without charge today. We continue to be concerned by the fact that he was arrested and detained for almost two days without any charge. We call on the Cuban government to cease its targeting and harassment of human rights defenders, including those working on freedom of religion or belief.”