Yoendry Oconor Reyes would have led arbitrary arrests of residents of Baire after the massive protest on October 16.
MIAMI, United States. – The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FDHC) incorporated the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in the Contramaestre municipality, Santiago de Cuba, Yoendry Oconor Reyes, to his list of “white collar repressors”.
The decision is based on the fact that Oconor Reyes would have led arbitrary arrests of residents of Baire after the massive protest on October 16, motivated by the lack of electricity for more than 30 hours, according to a press release from the FDHC.
According to the organization, the day after the demonstration, Oconor promised the doctor Erlis Sierra Gomez —who participated in the protest and came to talk with the authorities in the El Transformador neighborhood— that no retaliation would be taken against him. However, that same night the young pediatrician from the “Orlando Pantoja” Municipal Hospital was visited to be informed that he had to appear on Saturday the 18th at a Contramaestre police station, under the warning that, if he did not come, he could be arrested by the Special Brigade of the Ministry of the Interior and charged.
The story recorded by the FDHC adds that, after responding to the summons, Sierra Gómez was taken out through the back door of the police station and transferred to the Versalles criminal operations unit, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, provincial headquarters of State Security. There, he and nurse Humberto Nieto Sierra—who had also spoken with the officials—were interrogated for hours and forced to record a retraction video.
According to the same source, other detainees in relation to the protest were Osmani Heredia, Yanelis Sierra, Alexander Acosta and Ania Gómez Leyva – the doctor’s mother – who was later released.
The FDHC warns in its note that the supposed “dialogue” of the authorities with the population works as a tactic to distort the rebellious nature of the protests and expose citizens to reprisals. The organization recalls a recent precedent: the demonstration in the El Güirito neighborhood, Gibara municipality (Holguín), on September 13. In that case, the municipal secretary of the PCC, Nayla Marieta Leyva Rodríguez, described what happened as a “respectful” exchange that ended when the residents left in agreement with her explanations. The next day 27 Gibareños were arrested.
The FDHC interprets that accepting a dialogue on these terms entails the risk of being subsequently detained for having protested against the humanitarian crisis situation that affects millions of Cubans.
The file published in Cubanrepressors.com It classifies Yoendry Oconor Reyes as a “white-collar repressor” and accuses him of “violation of the right to protest,” “advice-participation in repression,” “violation of freedom of opinion,” “expression and information,” “arbitrary detention,” and “persecution for political reasons.”
The organization also highlights that Baire’s case reproduces a pattern already observed in other parts of the country: calling for dialogue, offering verbal guarantees to leaders or visible participants and, subsequently, proceeding to arrest and intimidate him.
