HAVANA, Cuba.- Javier González Fernández, 35 years old and a resident of the western province of Artemisa, is a 11J protester currently a prisoner in the Guanajay prison. A source close to the family denounced the terrible conditions in which his captivity has passed since he was arrested on the night of the day of the popular uprising.
On condition of anonymity, the source assured that Javier González did not resist the arrest although the captors –several men dressed in civilian clothes who did not show identification– tried to violate the home without a court order after 10 at night.
Since these individuals were prevented from searching, the head of the Artemisa Police Unit later showed up at the home and took him away on his motorcycle with the false promise of returning him personally after a 20-minute conversation. Instead, the protester was held in that Unit for five days. After that period Javier González was transferred to the Cuatro Caminos Technician, in Guanajay, and 13 days later he was taken to the Guanajay prison, where he has been since then.
The source adds that in all the places where Javier González was imprisoned he received constant threats and insults from the guards, as well as frequent beatings. In the Guanajay prison on one occasion he was taken naked to the infirmary. In the Artemisa police unit there were no toilets or water, and Javier and the rest of the protesters held there were made to brush their teeth with the water used to rinse the trays and bathe all together in the sunbed.
Neglect and mistreatment
The Cuatro Caminos Technician had many prisoners in a small space, without electric lighting and with a leak in the bathroom caused by a blockage that flooded the cell with sewage water, which caused the demonstrator a fungus in one ear and a rash on the feet, he adds.
Likewise, under the pretext of COVID-19, in all the time he remained in that detention center, they only took him out to sunbathe once. He was never given medication for the affected ear and skin. The source points out that the Cuatro Caminos politician stated that people “like them” had only two paths in this country: either they left, or they rose up on the hills to hunt them down like dogs. The first eight days in that detention center were spent without mattresses and they did not receive sheets until the tenth day.
The source adds that they tried to sanction Javier González’s father at his workplace in retaliation for renouncing his membership in the Communist Party (PCC). For this, they carried out a supposed audit in which they exclusively inspected the documents under his responsibility. Javier’s brother, for his part, was harassed by a State Security officer, who threatened him for a publication made by the young man some time ago. According to the source, both men have also been questioned for not participating in the May Day farce, and adds that their homes have been watched and their phones tapped on several occasions.
As for the protester, he stresses, he has never committed crimes or been fined. He adds that he is a good father of a little girl who celebrated her first birthday precisely on July 12, 2021 and was, together with her father, the breadwinner of her house as a self-employed jeweler’s assistant. At the time of his arrest, Javier González and his brother were in charge of looking after the house and taking care of his parents, since they had been injured shortly before July 11.
The source indicates that the authorities have tried to place the young man as the leader of the protests using a direct filmed by him, however, he clarifies, González did not participate in the organization of the events of that day because they were totally spontaneous. The alleged evidence against him is nothing more than false testimonies from police officers who saw him parade.
Javier González Fernández was sentenced to four years in prison. According to the source, his relatives have filed complaints at all levels, but have received no response.
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