Tuesday, May 17, 2011

International Reaction to the Extrajudicial Killing of Juan Wilfredo Soto García

Juan Wilfredo Soto García beaten and arrested by Cuban regime police on Thursday, May 5, 2011 while protesting the dictatorship died early on Sunday May 8, 2011. He was buried on Sunday on Mother's Day. The response of the international community and the calls for an investigation offer hope that justice will be done in this case.


On May 12, 2011, Representative Albio Sires of New Jersey spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives to condemn the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto in Cuba.


Minister of State Hoyer calls for clarification of the circumstances surrounding the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto in Cuba

10.05.2011

After the death of Cuban dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto, Minister of State Werner Hoyer today issued the following statement:

"I am deeply saddened by the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto and would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to his next of kin.
The German Government urges the Cuban Government to investigate and clarify the circumstances that led to the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto. Reports on the maltreatment of Mr Soto by Cuban police officers stands in sharp contrast to the positive signal sent out by the release of political prisoners during recent months and may thwart the related hope for a fundamental improvement of the human rights situation in Cuba.”

The Cuban dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto died on Sunday in his hometown of Santa Clara. The opposition claims he was beaten up by the police in a public park. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights linked Mr Soto’s death directly to the violence used by the police.

According to Guillermo Fariñas, recipient of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, his co-worker Juan Wilfredo Soto suffered from a number of chronic conditions. As a result of his critical stance towards the Cuban Government Mr Soto had spent twelve years in detention.

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2011/110510-StMHoyer-Soto-Kuba.html?nn=479796


Foreign Ministry Statement on the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto García


Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland expresses sadness and grief at the death of Cuban government opponent Juan Wilfredo Soto García on 8 May 2011. We wish to offer our deepest sympathies to the family of the late dissident.Poland expresses profound concern over the circumstances of Juan Wilfredo Soto García’s death. According to witnesses' admission, three days before, i.e. on 5 May 2011, Juan Wilfredo Soto García had been severely beaten by police. Poland calls on the Cuban authorities to explain all circumstances behind his death and reiterates its appeal to Cuba’s authorities to stop all activities that abuse human rights.

Marcin Bosacki
Press Spokesman

http://www.msz.gov.pl/index.php?document=43075


Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on death of Cuban dissident and political prisoner Juan Wilfred Soto García

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic received with great concern the sad news of the unfortunate death of the Cuban dissident and former political prisoner Mr. Juan Wilfredo Soto García. We are especially concerned with the unclear circumstances of his death. We would like to express our sincere condolences to family and friends.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic urges the Cuban Authorities to perform a thorough investigation leading to full clarification of causes of Mr. Juan Wilfredo Soto García’s death.

http://www.mzv.cz/jnp/en/issues_and_press/statements/x2011_05_12_sttatement_of_mfa_on_death_of_juan_wilfredo_soto_garcia.html

2 comments:

  1. The Cuban government has answered back by killing the man who beat Soto. This way he would not be able to talk and say the orders of extreme violence came down from the top in order to intimidate peaceful protesters from acting out.

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  2. There is nothing to corroborate the above comment. Please provide sources.

    ReplyDelete