Professional background

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 was transferred repeatedly from one labor camp to another, where tasks include weeding and cutting sugarcane.



Current status

Bernardo Arévalo Padrón reportedly deteriorated both physically and psychologically while in prison. In December 2002, he was diagnosed with leptospirosis, a disease that is spread by rats. Arévalo Padrón's sentence was due to expire on November 15, 2003. On November 13, he was released from prison and handed his official release certificate without explanation. He maintains he was severely mistreated during his six years in detention, enduring physical and psychological torture at the hands of prison authorities.



Since his release, Arévalo Padrón has been continuously harassed by agents of the Cuban government. In 2004, the U.S. State Department granted him a refugee visa, only to revoke it just over one month before he was scheduled to travel to the United States. He remains in Cuba. 

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