MADRID, Spain.- The Foundation for Pan-American Democracy, through its Complaints Center, has officially requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issue precautionary measures in favor of Cuban independent journalist Carlos Michael Morales. Morales, a former political prisoner, confirmed the news on Tuesday on social media, where she denounced that she continues to be the target of harassment and repression by the authorities.
“Support for me continues in the face of the brutal repression to which I am subjected,” Morales wrote on his X account, announcing the formal request to the IACHR.
Carlos Michael Morales was released in March, after serving a sentence of two years and ten months of imprisonment for the alleged crime of “public disorder” after his participation in the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J) in Caibarién. He was subsequently arrested again on 4 May and charged with “disobedience” after refusing to attend police summons that he considered illegal.
During his detention, Morales reported that he had been beaten and deprived of medical care. He also said that State Security offered him freedom in exchange for publicly breaking his ties with the opposition, an offer he categorically rejected. He was released in July after being sentenced to eight months of house arrest.
Less than a month ago the IACHR granted precautionary measures in favor of Cuban prisoner Joel Jardines Jardines, due to the serious risk to his life and integrity while he remains detained in the Aguacate prison, Quivicán, in the province of Mayabeque.
Last July, the IACHR issued precautionary measures to protect Frai Claro Valladares, a Cuban political prisoner serving a sentence 10 year sentence of prison for the alleged crime of sedition. Valladares was arrested after participating in the Nuevitas demonstrations, Camagüey, in August 2022, and for denouncing police violence through their social networks.
Also in July, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights established precautionary measures in favor of political prisoner Julián Mazola Beltrán, who is in a situation of extreme gravity and urgency, with a significant risk of irreparable harm to his life and personal integrity. Other Cubans for whom the IACHR has requested precautionary measures are: Aniette GonzalezJulio Cesar Gongora, Walnier Luis Aguilar Rivera and Ibrahim Dominguez Aguilar.
