Cuban opponent Óscar Elías Biscet, founder of the Emilia Project to restore democracy in Cuba, was arrested this Monday near his home in Havana, his wife, Elsa Morejón, confirmed to 14ymedio.
According to Morejón, they arrested him at 8 am at Milagro and 8va, in Lawton, where the family lives. There “two patrol cars” with State Security agents were waiting for him. Since then the woman has not heard from him.
Precisely this January 9 marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Emilia Project, and Biscet was on his way to a meeting with other leaders of that initiative when he was arrested.
Almost three years ago, the opponent was detained for five hours, while State Security agents searched his house and took all kinds of electronic devices.
There “two patrol cars” with State Security agents were waiting for him. Since then the woman she has not heard from him
Biscet, 58 years old and a doctor by profession, was arrested at the end of 2002 and sentenced to 25 years in prison during the so-called Black Spring. He was later released in 2011 as part of a negotiation process that involved the Vatican and the Spanish government. The dissident was also a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize and chaired the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights.
After being released, under the condition of extra-penal leave, he was only allowed on one occasion to travel outside the Island.
Creator of the Emilia Project and awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Freedom, Biscet began his protest work by criticizing the practice of abortions in Cuba while working as a doctor.
Police searches are a frequent repressive practice in Cuba and have been widely denounced by national organizations for the defense of human rights and by international organizations.
The Emilia Project bears the name of one of the Cuban heroines, Emilia Teurbe Tolón, the first Cuban woman exiled for political reasons.
“Those of us who signed this document, inspired by his patriotic example, propose to carry out this project whose essential objectives are: the conquest of fundamental human rights, democracy and the freedom of the Cuban people,” says its website.
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