Independent lawyer from Pinar del Río detained and mistreated for 24 hours

On Thursday, 1 November 2018 at 9:30 pm, when a lawyer José Ernesto Morales Estrada was on his way back from Havana, where he had participated in a meeting with human rights activists, he was arbitrary detained by police in front of the Pinar del Río Cathedral. He was then handcuffed, taken to the police station and accused of police evasion, disrespect and disobedience. At the police station, the officers opened a criminal case against him. Subsequently, José Ernesto was taken to a prison cell based on the State Security order. There, he was kept in subhuman conditions and mistreated by the prison guard known as Acanda. He was released after having spent 24 hours detained under an administrative measure imposed by the police. He was fined 200 pesos (CUP) to be paid in three days, otherwise he would be prosecuted.