Juan Carlos Vasallo Fregio is the National Human Rights Coordinator for the Union for a Free Cuba Party (PUNCLI). Photo: Juan Carlos Vasallo/Facebook.
Cubalex warns about the continued harassment of activist Juan Carlos Vasallo Freijo, national coordinator of Human Rights of the Union for a Free Cuba Party (PUNCLI), through illegal summonses and threats by State Security.
According to information received by Cubalex, Vasallo Freijo was summoned On December 16, he was to appear at the PNR unit in San Agustín, La Lisa, Havana. The day before, a State Security officer, who identified himself as “Raúl,” came to his home and verbally informed him that he had to appear at 2:00 pm at said police unit.
When he asked about the reasons for the summons, the officer replied that he “didn’t need to know” and threatened to charge him with disobedience if he did not appear.
Vasallo appeared at the station and was interrogated for approximately two hours, during which time he was threatened because of his activism and his social media posts. During the interrogation, authorities attempted to link him, without any basis, to the appearance of posters in Havana and to the opposition organization Cuba Primero.
Later, it was cited again He was verbally summoned to appear on December 17 at 1:00 pm, this time at the 6th police unit in Marianao. Two State Security officers, identified as “Raúl” and “Ariel” (“alias el guajiro”), showed up at his home without delivering a formal summons or explaining the reasons for his appearance.
The verbal and illegal summonses, Such practices, like those used in this case, violate due process guarantees and expose the person summoned to risks of abuse, coercion, and other violations of fundamental rights. These practices are part of intimidation mechanisms systematically employed by the authorities to generate fear and discourage the exercise of rights such as freedom of expression, association, and civic participation.
Cubalex continues to monitor the situation of Juan Carlos Vasallo Freijo and will alert on any new updates related to this case.