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Bernardo Arévalo Padrón was working as a railroad engineer when he became a member of a human rights association that was not recognized by the state. He later became a journalist, and in 1996, he founded Linea Sur Press, a small, privately run and independent press agency based in Cienfuegos. He has served since then both as a journalist and the director of this agency, which he created with the goal of making the Cuban public aware of the ways in which their government was violating their fundamental rights.
Case history:
Bernardo Arévalo Padrón was arrested on August 14, 1997. He was detained by State Security
agents in Aguada de Pasajeros and released three days later to await trial.
A Cienfuegos court charged him with "insulting and contemptuous behavior"
following articles considered insulting towards Fidel Castro and the President of the National Assembly, Carols Lage, and sentenced him to six years' imprisonment. Interviewed by radio from Miami, Arévalo Padrón denounced the allegations as lies and accused the government of ignoring the declaration of Vita de Mar (Chile), where the Ibero-American Summit of 1996 was held. This declaration, which was signed by
Cuba, upholds political plurality as a universal value.
On February 3, 1998, Arévalo Padrón wrote to Marvin Hernandez, correspondent of the independent news agency Cuba Press. In his letter, he reported that he was being held in a cell with non-political prisoners, that he had been suffering from bronchitis for one month, and that his request for a visit by a priest had been ignored. It is also reported that he was severely beaten by two prison guards in Ariza Prison in April of 1998. On April 1, 2001, his application for conditional leave (all Cuban prisoners become eligible for this on serving half their sentence, and Arévalo reached the half way point in October 2000) was turned down by the authorities on the grounds that he had not been sufficiently "politically re-educated." In March of 2002, the journalist released information on prison conditions in the center where he was being held. He was instantly deprived of his wife's visits and the following month prison authorities turned down his fourth request to be released on parole.
Since his original incarceration, Bernardo Arévalo Padrón has been transferred repeatedly from one labor camp to another, where tasks include weeding and cutting sugarcane.
Current status:
After his latest transfer back to Ariza Prison, and as his final year of imprisonment approaches, Bernardo Arévalo Padrón has reportedly deteriorated both physically and psychologically. He fears that he may be indicted on some other grounds and given yet another prison term. He is currently being held in a cell with criminal convicts, in a forced labor camp that provides poor levels of nutrition. He is reported to be suffering from high blood pressure, and in December 2002, Arévalo was diagnosed with leptospirosis, a disease that is spread by rats. He has written since his initial detention to complain of ill-treatment, poor food and unsanitary conditions. In August 2002, Arévalo sent a letter in which he stated that he feared for his life because the prison authorities had threatened the denial of visitation rights to all prisoners if he continued to send information out of the prison. Such a move would incite
reprisals from Bernardo Arévalo Padrón's fellow inmates.
Bernardo Arévalo Padrón is also an Honorary Member of the English, Catalan, Peruvian and Canadian PEN Centers.
He is one of the 2003 recipients
of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.
PEN considers Bernardo Arévalo Padrón to be detained in violation of his right
to freedom of expression and association as guaranteed by Articles 19 and
22 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is
calling for his immediate and unconditional release.