Today, January 14, state security agents slipped an official summons under the door of the family home where activist Raux Denis Rodríguez resides. The notice, signed by Captain Ernesto Mesa Martín and lacking Denis Raux's address (as required), demands he appear at the 3rd Police Station on January 14, 2021, at 10:00 AM. There, he will be questioned by Captain Manzo, the station's second-in-command, who warned him that failure to appear constitutes disobedience and could result in charges.
Cubalex reviewed his summons and found several violations. First, it is not signed by the court clerk, nor does it specify which officer he must appear before or the reason for his summons. Furthermore, it lacks his home address, the purpose of the summons, and the address of the aforementioned 3rd precinct.
The violations continue: the notice also fails to specify Captain Manzo's position and the public function he performs. This notice today is undoubtedly a form of coercion; according to the law, if he fails to appear, he can be fined 50.00 pesos, and if he has been summoned a second time, he could face criminal prosecution. Despite all the violations he has committed, the authorities have issued this warning.
What to do in the event of an illegal summons?
If it does not comply with the requirements of Article 86, Article 90 authorizes you to declare it null and void. Notifications, summonses, and subpoenas issued without observing the provisions of Article 86 are null and void. If you accept a summons that does not meet the legal requirements, it will have full legal effect, as if it had been issued in accordance with the provisions of the Law.
Article 86 requires that summonses be delivered personally or through a family member, neighbor, or at the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution). Cubalex recommends instructing those living with you not to accept any summons addressed to you. Advise them that by accepting it, they are assuming an obligation, but the law does not specify the consequences of non-compliance.
The law only recognizes the Criminal Investigator, the Prosecutor, and the Court as authorities. All others are assistants who are obligated to carry out the tasks entrusted to them, such as delivering a summons. They cannot issue and sign a summons. If they do, they would be performing acts proper to an authority without legitimate authority, assuming official status. That is usurping public functions, a crime.
“Usurpation of Public Functions (paragraph a) of Section 1 of Article 148 of the Penal Code): Anyone who, without legitimate title, performs acts proper to an authority or a public official, attributing to himself an official character, incurs a penalty of deprivation of liberty of one to three years or a fine of three hundred to one thousand units”
Even in a dictatorial regime like Cuba, police and state agents should not be above the law. Let us demand respect for the laws they themselves created. Let us not allow them to continue using the law as an instrument of repression. Let us demand the proper exercise of public functions. Let us denounce abuses of power.