Download a copy of the 1st UA 19/23 below
On February 14, 2023, state security officials detained former prisoner of conscience Josiel Guía Piloto in his home in Havana, according to information currently available to Amnesty International.
Prior to his detention he reported that state security officials had detained him for approximately two hours on February 10, 2023, and threatened to charge him with “disobedience” if he did not report to them twice a month. At the time of his detention, he was hunger striking in protest over his constant harassment and surveillance.
We call on the authorities to provide the reasons for Josiel Guía Piloto’s detention, to grant him access to a lawyer of his choosing, and to ensure he is not tortured or ill-treated while in detention.
What you can do
Write to the Cuban President:
- To demand information about the grounds of Josiel Guía Piloto’s detention
- Urging him to ensure that he is immediately provided with a lawyer of his choosing.
- Calling him to ensure that Josiel Guía Piloto is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment during his detention.
Write to:
Miguel Díaz-Canel,
President of Cuba
Hidalgo Esq. 6,
Plaza de La Revolución, CP 10400,
La Habana, Cuba
E-mail: despacho@presidencia.gob.cu
Twitter: @DiazCanelB
Salutation: Dear President Díaz-Canel,
You could also write to:
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Calle G, No. 360, Vedado
Plaza de la Revolución
La Habana, Cuba
E-mail: dm@minrex.gob.cu; cubaminrex@minrex.gob.cu
Twitter: @BrunoRguezP
And copy:
His Excellency Hector IGARZA CABRERA
Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba
388 Main Street
Ottawa, ON K1S 1E3
Tel: (613) 563-0141 Fax: (613) 563-0068
Email: embacuba@embacubacanada.net
*** Please note that emails to these addresses may not go through so we encourage you to copy the Cuban ambassador in your email. We also strongly advise that if you can, try to reach the targets on Twitter as they seem to have a strong presence on that platform.
Josiel Guía Piloto
Josiel Guía Piloto is a member of the Republican Party of Cuba and a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. He previously served a five-year sentence for “public disorder” and “contempt” for allegedly having criticized former President Fidel Castro on December 1, 2016.
On June 11, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures to respect and protect his rights to health, life and physical integrity. In February 2020, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also called his previous detention in 2016 “arbitrary” and called for his release.
*** Please take action at your earliest convenience!
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If you want Updates on this case, send your request to urgentaction@amnesty.ca with “Keep me updated on UA 19/23 Cuba” in the subject line.
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