Havana.-The leader of the Oppositor Movement Ladies of Blanco, Berta Soler Fernándezand her husband, the political activist and expreasing Ángel Moya Acosta, They have been missing since last Thursday, April 17, after being arrested by forces of the Cuban regime. So far, its whereabouts and the official reasons for the arrest are unknown.
The complaint It was made publicly by the Lady of Blanco María Cristina Labrada through her Facebook account, where she expressed concern about the silence of the authorities and the lack of information about the whereabouts of both opponents. Labrada suggested that the arrest could be related to a recent Soler meeting with Mike HammerBusiness Manager of the United States Embassy in Cuba, who would have accompanied her to the Santa Rita de Casia Church, where white ladies traditionally try to attend Mass every Sunday as a symbolic act of resistance and faith, without the dictatorship being allowed.
Cubanet has tried to contact them but their phones have no sign.
This is not the first recent detention facing both opponents. Last Sunday, April 6, Soler and Moya were arrested when they tried to leave their home at noon, property that also works as the headquarters of the Ladies Movement of Blanco. That day, as on multiple previous occasions, they intended to join a peaceful protest day to demand the liberation of political prisoners in Cuba.
Already on March 30 both had been taken separately to police stations, after refusing to undergo a medical check -up by an alleged optional during their arrest. Berta Soler was transferred to the Cotorro unit, where she shared a cell with a common prisoner condemned by murder, who threatened her inside the dungeon, in what has been denounced as a tactic of intimidation. They were released the next day, left near their headquarters in Havana.
Berta Soler, nurse by profession, founded in 2003 with other women the Ladies Movement of Blanco, after the mass arrests of black spring, where 75 opponents – among them their husband – were imprisoned by the regime for political reasons. Since then, it has been one of the most visible voices of the peaceful opposition in Cuba, facing harassment, surveillance, arbitrary arrests and defamation campaigns by the authorities.
Ángel Moya, meanwhile, was one of the 75 prisoners of conscience imprisoned during the Black Spring of 2003. Convinced to 20 years in prison for his dissident activities, he was released in 2011 under extrapenal license. Since then, he has continued his civic activism with his wife, both being frequent white of arrests and repressive acts.
The Ladies of Blanco and human rights organizations inside and outside the island demand the immediate liberation of Soler and Moya, as well as respect for their fundamental rights. Repression against dissent in Cuba continues to be a source of international concern.
