Harassed by authorities, preventing him from leaving the country

On February 22, lawyer José Ernesto Morales Estrada, a human rights defender in Cuba, was arbitrarily detained by two officers of the National Revolutionary Police. José Ernesto received a fine for parking his motorcycle in front of a butcher shop. When he asked why he was being arrested, they said that his vehicle was badly parked, and for that reason, he must accompany them to the police station. Again asking why he must do this, they told him that if he did not go he would be accused of contempt. He was handcuffed and taken through the main street of Pinar del Río where he was well known as a defender. At the police station, he was detained for an hour. Before leaving, another policeman arrived and told him that if he went back with his motorcycle on Street Real, he would be arrested. José Ernesto believes that this detention was unfair, because there were several other cars and motorcycles parked without issue near his. In addition, he believes that this fine is part of a harassment strategy used by State Security who were seeking an excuse to punish him for his work as a human rights defender. On February 23, a man dressed as a policeman, though without identification, arrived at Ernesto's house and told him that he knew he was preparing to travel abroad. Additionally, he let him know that the trip would not be possible because he had an outstanding fine. Ernesto then went immediately to pay the fine. On February 24, Ernesto was stopped by the police when he arrived at the José Martí International Airport to board a flight to Bogotá. He was intercepted by two undercover officers who failed to identify themselves before telling him that they needed to talk for a few minutes and "invited" him to get in a car. He was held in the vehicle for two hours, during which time he was unable to talk and was not spoken to. Additionally, they did not answer when he asked about the reasoning for his arrest. Finally, they released him once the flight had left. On February 25, the human rights defender, trying to counteract the harassment and intimidation he had been subjected to the previous day, returned to José Martí airport in Havana to try to board another flight to Bogotá. When it got to his turn to check-in, he was approached by two immigration officers, one who had supervisor identification, and was told he was "regulated" and could not travel. Again, when asking for a reason, they responded that they did not know. Ernesto told them that on February 20 he had gone to the immigration office in Pinar del Río to extend his passport, make sure he had no exit restrictions, and that his passport was not regulated. When presenting this information to the airport authorities, they simply told him to try to travel again in one or two months, but that for the time being it was regulated.