Miguel Sigler Amaya along with his wife and twochildren as they were boarding a plane that was to take them into exile, BosNewsLife learned from dissident sources Wednesday, September 21.
"Tuesday morning, September 20, as family members went to see them off, Miguel Sigler Amaya, his wife Josefa Lopez Pena, and their two children, were all arrested as they were boarding the plane bound for the city of Cancun in Mexico," said the Alternative Option Independent Movement (AOIM), in a statement to BosNewsLife News Center.
It was not immediately clear whether they were seeking asylum in Mexico or the United States, which has condemned Cuba’s human and religious rights record. "Miguel Sigler Amaya and his family were taken to the Police Unit No. 1, located near the Rancho Boyeros Airport in Havana," the AOIM said.
Dissident Sigler Amaya was arrested in March, 2003, when Cuban President Fidel Castro’s secret police launched a series of sweeps across Cuba, arresting physicians, journalists, poets, authors, teachers, photographers, and human rights activists, including Christians.
LONG PRISON TERM
Sigler Amaya was sentenced to 26 months in prison for his activities as a leader and Public Relations Secretary of AOIM, a human rights group fighting for more political and religious freedom in the Communist island. International human rights watchdog Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience.
Cuban authorities say however that Sigler Amaya was first sentenced to six months jail time on charges of "disobedience." But another court added 20 months to the sentence later that year as he allegedly also committed "disobedience" and "resistance" while in prison, Amnesty International said.
In addition a prosecutor reportedly prepared another trial asking for 15 to 25 years imprisonment although it was not known on what charges. His two brothers, Guido and Ariel were also declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International after they were sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, following their detention on March 18, 2003.
WIFE "SUFFERED PERSECUTION"
Lopez Pena also suffered persecution as she participated in protests organized by family members of Cuban political prisoners known as the Ladies In White who "peacefully and publicly pray and demand the freedom of their loved ones", dissidents said.
In addition she practiced independent journalism and her articles were widely published. "The [AOIM] makes an urgent appeal to the international community so that immediate steps are taken in order that these human rights activists are allowed to leave the island into exile," the group said.
Their intention to flee the island has been linked to an expected new government pressure on them and health reasons. Sigler Amaya is suffering from a respiratory infection and diabetes, dissidents said. The family’s medicines were reportedly taken away when 150 police officers raided their home in 2003 where they also accommodated an independent clinic. Cuba’s president Castro has denied there are "dissidents" in his country who he describes as "counter-revolutionaries" and "American agents" among other terms. (With Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research, BosNewsLife News Center and reports from Cuba).
