The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of Cuba to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 62/2023 concerning Dariel Ruiz García, asking the Government of Cuba to immediately and unconditionally release him, and to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.
Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Dariel Ruiz García (Cuba): Opinion 62/2023.
ARRESTED FOR HAVING PARTICIPATED IN TWO PROTESTS
Dariel Ruiz García is a Cuban national, usually residing in Madruga, in the province of Mayabeque, born in 1973. Mr. Ruiz García has a physical disability. He was arrested by the National Revolutionary Police of his municipality of residence in Madruga on 17 August 2021.
His arrest took place in the context of the mass protests on 11 July 2021 and in the following days, which were driven by widespread shortages of food and medicine, as well as increasing governmental repression on fundamental freedoms. These protests were violently repressed by different Governmental forces and other groups, including: people dressed as civilians belonging to section 21 of the General Directorate of Counterintelligence; uniformed agents of the National Revolutionary Police, the Special National Brigade known as the ‘Black Berets’; and uniformed agents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Prevention Troops, known as the ‘Red Berets’. These violent confrontations were publicly encouraged by the Cuban President, who even declared that "the combat order had been given". In addition, the source claimed that during that day and the days following the demonstration, the Government suspended Internet connection throughout the country so that the public would not be aware of what was happening.
Mr. Ruiz García, who took part in the demonstration on 12 July 2021, also took part in a demonstration in the province of Mayabeque on 17 August 2021, because the population had been without electricity for 12 days. When he was about to return home, Mr. Ruiz García was arrested by agents of the National Revolutionary Police of the municipality of Madruga.
According to the source, the initial grounds for the arrest were obedience to the combat order of the President of the Republic in response to the demonstrations on 11 July 2021 - itself based on the law the Criminal Procedure Act (Act No. 5) of 1977. However, once he was arrested, placed in a pre-trial detention regime and interrogated under police coercion, Mr. Ruiz García was told that the reasons for his arrest were for the crimes of contempt of authority, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime.
On 19 August 2022, Mr. Ruiz García was convicted by the Criminal Division of the San José de las Lajas Municipal People's Court for the crimes of contempt, public disorder and resistance, and as such was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison. According to the source, Mr. Ruiz García did not appeal this decision due to his fear and distrust of the administration of justice. After having been transferred to multiple facilities, where he stayed between a few days and more than a year, Mr. Ruiz García was held in the prison camp "Paraíso" in Güines at the time of the source's communication. However, he has since been released.
The Cuban Government was given the opportunity to rebut the allegations made by the source, which it partially did.
ARRESTED WITHOUT A WARRANT, HELD INCOMMUNICADO AND NOT PROMPTLY BROUGHT BEFORE A JUDGE
Firstly, the source argued that Mr. Ruiz García was arrested without arrest warrant, and without being informed of his constitutional rights, under the above-detailed circumstances. Contrary to the source's allegations, the Government asserted that he was arrested for the scandal he caused under the influence of alcohol and for the violation of the health measures in force due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government further noted that as his arrest took place a month after the protests on 11 July 2021, his arrest could not have been related to his participation in it. The Working Group considered that since the Government did not mention whether there was an arrest warrant in its allegation, the detention of Mr. Ruiz García violated articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The source then alleged that Mr. Ruiz García was held incommunicado, as he was unable to speak to his relatives by telephone and to access legal counsel until one month after his arrest, and could not be visited until almost three months after his arrest. The Government disputed this, stating that Mr. Ruiz García was given the right to legal representation around a week after his arrest, on 24 August 2021, and that visits were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Working Group recalled that in times of pandemic, the authorities must take actions to facilitate communications between detainees and their relatives, noting the absence of response from the Government concerning the late date at which Mr. Ruiz García was first allowed to call his relatives. Considering this, and reminding that health emergencies cannot justify incommunicado detention, the Working Group found Mr. Ruiz García's right to be recognised as a person before the law had been violated, under article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Finally, the source stated that Mr. Ruiz García was deprived of his liberty for more than 100 days without the possibility of being brought before a judge or court. The Government didn't provide information on the date and circumstances under which he was brought before a judge for the first time. As such, the Working Group considered that Mr. Ruiz García's rights not to be arbitrarily detained and to access an effective remedy, enshrined in articles 8 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, had been violated.
In the light of the foregoing, the Working Group concluded that the arrest and detention of Mr. Ruiz García lacked any legal basis and that his deprivation of liberty was therefore arbitrary under category I.
VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF OPINION, EXPRESSION, PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
The source considered that Mr. Ruiz García was arrested for having expressed his political opinions through his participation to the protests in July and August 2021, that is to say for having exercise his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In response to this allegation, the Government stated that his arrest only took place because of the violent acts, scandals and vandalism of Mr. Ruiz García while he was intoxicated. In this regard, the Working Group held that there were no reports of the public disorder that Mr. Ruiz García had allegedly caused, nor was it convinced that Mr. Ruiz García's actions could justify the loss of those fundamental rights.
In the light of the foregoing, the Working Group concluded that Mr. Ruiz García was arrested for having exercised his legitimate freedoms of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association, in violation of articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As such, this finding rendered his detention arbitrary under category II.
MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF HIS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL
With regards to the fact that the precautionary measure of pre-trial detention was issued on 24 August 2021 by the Prosecutor, the Working Group recalled that when coercive measures such as this one are imposed, there must be a separation between the authority conducting the investigation of the case and the authority in charge of the detention. Additionally, the Working Group also recalled that the authority ordering the arrest or detention of an individual must be a judicial one. Both of these conditions were not respected in this case, which impaired its impartiality. In view of the above, the Working Group concluded in the violation of the right to defence of Mr. Ruiz García, enshrined in articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Besides, according to the source, Mr. Ruiz García remained in pre-trial detention for more than a year, which it described as excessive considering his total sentence ended up being of two and a half years. Besides, Mr. Ruiz García was unlikely to attempt fleeing justice. Indeed, he has a leg amputee, has a minor son under his care, has a stable family and home, and had no criminal record prior to his arrest. The Government tried to justify this by pointing to domestic legal provisions and the seriousness of the crime. However, the Working Group established the Government had failed to properly justify the necessity of pre-trial detention, and to respect its exceptional character. In this light, the Working Group found this situation had violated Mr. Ruiz García's right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, as guaranteed by article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mr. Ruiz García was also denied communication with a lawyer following his arrest, and even when he was allowed such communication, they were restricted by the authorities. According to the Working Group, this denied him the rights to a fair trial in accordance with the principle of equality of arms and to adequate and sufficient time and facilities to prepare his defence, in violation of articles 10 and 11 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Finally, during his detention, Mr. Ruiz García was subjected to daily interrogation sessions, which could have amounted to psychological torture and ill-treatment. As such, the Working Group referred this case to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Consequently, the Working Group concluded that the breaches of the right to fair trial of Mr. Ruiz García were of such gravity that it rendered his deprivation of liberty arbitrary under category III.
CONCLUSIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION
In the light of the above, the United Nations Working Group against Arbitrary Detention found that the detention of Dariel Ruiz García was arbitrary and fell into categories I, II and III, because his deprivation of liberty contravened articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Working Group recommended that the Government of Cuba should take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Dariel Ruiz García without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international standards. The Working Group considered that, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release him immediately and to grant him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
The Working Group, based on the violations of international law that have been occurring in Cuba in recent years, would welcome the opportunity to undertake a visit to Cuba.
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