Independent lawyer from Pinar del Río detained and threatened by the State Security

On 11 November 2019, Calixto Evaristo Miranda Landeiro, human rights defender and independent lawyer, was arbitrary detained when he was on his way to the headquarters of the Legal Counseling and Civic Instruction, an organization gathering independent lawyers he belongs to. According to the testimonies, Miranda Landeiro was detained at 8:30 am by State Security officials when he was leaving his house. One of them told him to get in the Lada car which belongs to the State Security. Miranda Landeiro was missing for more than 6 hours. When he appeared again, he was far away from his house and he needed a help with paying the taxi as the officials confiscated all of his money he had on him. Moreover, he was threatened with imprisonment and the only way to avoid it, according to the officials, would be leave the country. After that, Miranda Landeiro was ill for one week, his feet were inflamed and his blood pressure was out of control. These problems were probably a consequence of the bad treatment he experienced from the State Security officials.