Yahoo! January 24, 2001
Czechs detained in Cuba
By Ondrej Hejma, Associated Press Writer
PRAGUE, Czech Republic 24 (AP) - A former finance minister and a fellow
Czech detained in Cuba were carrying computerized instructions for dissidents
from an American pro-democracy group, a Communist legislator said Wednesday.
The pair had names and addresses of dissidents to meet, along with computer
diskettes and CD-ROMs that were to be turned over to them, Communist legislator
Miloslav Ransdorf told The Associated Press.
He said that the Czech Communist Party had received a letter from Cuba's
Communist government detailing allegations against Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik,
arrested Jan. 12 in Ciego de Avila, about 185 miles east of Havana, after
meeting with pro-democracy dissidents.
Cuba and the Czech Republic have no diplomatic ties, and Prague still has
not heard officially about the arrests, which have led to the most serious
impasse between the former Socialist allies in recent years.
Pilip, 37, is a deputy in the Czech Parliament's lower house and a former
finance minister. Bubenik, 32, was a student leader in the 1989 overthrow of the
Communist government in Prague.
Ransdorf said the Cuban letter detailing the allegations claimed that
Freedom House, an American pro-democracy group, had provided the material for
the dissidents. Pilip and Bubenik each received $1,500 for expenses, the letter
alleged.
"The same letter was sent by the Cuban Foreign Ministry to all
embassies in Havana,'' and would be published by the Czech Communist Party daily
on Thursday, Ransdorf said.
Freedom House has condemned the arrests, expressing solidarity with the two
Czechs "for their efforts to advocate for human rights, democracy and
freedom.''
The Cuban Communist Party daily Granma has accused the two of being "American
agents,'' saying they were charged with acting against Cuban security and
inciting rebellion.
There was no official information on potential sentences, but the Czech
Mlada Fronta Dnes daily said the two could face up to 20 years in prison if
convicted.
The United Nations (news - web sites) approved a motion against Cuba's human
rights record that was introduced by the Czech Republic and Poland in April.
Pilip's wife, Lucie, who visited her husband in prison, said the two were in
good spirits and health, and awaiting trial that should take place within 60
days.
Detained Czech's Wife Visits Cuba
By Vivian Sequera, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA, 23 (AP) - A Czech lawmaker's wife said Tuesday she hopes the
international community will help free her husband and another Czech arrested
after meeting with dissidents and accused of acts against Cuba's national
security.
Lucie Pilipova, the wife of former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip, has visited
her husband and fellow detainee Jan Bubenik several times since she arrived in
Havana on Saturday.
"I believe in my husband, that he is innocent and I hope that Cuban
authorities will free him,'' Pilipova told reporters in the lobby of a Havana
hotel.
Pilipova said Cuban authorities charged her husband and Bubenik on Thursday
with "acts against state security related to rebellion.'' A Cuban
prosecutor told the men on Sunday that they could expect to be held at least 60
days and then could be tried in court, she said. She said the men have yet to be
assigned defense attorneys.
Pilip, 37, and Bubenik, 32, were arrested Jan. 12 in Ciego de Avila, about
185 miles east of Havana, after meeting with two dissidents there.
Pilip is currently a deputy in the Czech parliament's lower house. Bubenik
was a student leader in the 1989 movement that toppled the communist government
in Prague.
The Czechs could be turned over to the Cuban courts for violating their
tourist visas and for having "subversive contacts with members of
counterrevolutionary groups,'' the Cuban Communist Party daily Granma said last
week in the government's first and only comment on the arrests.
Those who "grossly violate our laws and try to conspire against the
revolution do not have the right to impunity no matter what their titles or
positions,'' the newspaper said.
On Tuesday, Pilipova spoke as she sat next to Bubenik's brother, Martin, who
traveled with her to Havana.
Both prisoners "are very well, they are being treated very well,''
Pilipova said. She said Cuban authorities let them visit their jailed relatives
at Havana's Villa Marista prison every day for at least an hour, accompanied by
an official and a Cuban translator.
The arrests come in the wake of a diplomatic spat involving Cuba and the
Czech Republic.
Cuba's communist government was enraged with the Czech Republic and Poland
last April when the former socialist allies introduced a motion before the
United Nations (news - web sites)' human rights body to censure the island for
its human rights record. The motion was later approved.
After the pair was arrested last week, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan
appealed to the European Union (news - web sites) for help. Prime Minister Milos
Zeman wrote a personal letter to Cuban leader Fidel Castro (news - web sites)
and President Vaclav Havel is reportedly asking Pope John Paul (news - web
sites) II to mediate.
The U.S. State Department condemned the detention last week.
Copyright © Yahoo!
Inc.
Copyright © 2000
The Associated Press.
| 