Independent lawyer detained and threatened for his activities in favour of human rights

On 9 May 2019 at 11:40 am, José Ernesto Morales Estrada who is the representative of the organization Legal Counseling and Civic Instruction, was arbitrary detained when meeting his colleague Gisela Padin Perera. The police chief leading a motorized patrol approached Morales Estrada and told him to follow him to the police station. When they arrived, there were already two State Security officers, one of them known as Captain Otoniel, waiting for him. They told him to sit down and to wait at the reception desk. Two hours later, the head of the State Security in Pinar del Río came and Morales Estrada had to follow him to the interrogation room on the third floor of the same building. During the interrogation, the activist was threatened with imprisonment for his activities in favour of defending human rights. He was also told that he is not covered by any law and his organization does not have any legal status. Then the official asked him what the Cuban state should do to improve the standard of living, taking into account that there is the United States embargo against Cuba. The activist replied that the Cuban population indeed lived in misery, however, the embargo did not exist when luxurious hotels were being built and when members of the Cuban Government were buying modern cars. Morales Estrada was warned that if he continued with his activities against the revolution or the activities not approved by the government, he would get into serious troubles.