Through monitoring by Cubalex, it has been learned that independent journalist Yania Suárez and her elderly mother, They are being victims of the systematic violation of their right to health, as a result of toxic gas emissions from a generator illegally installed in the common garage of the building where they live in Havana.
Following the illegal use of the building's garage by another resident, Suárez has filed numerous complaints with the authorities, who have failed to take any effective action. Despite resolutions from the Municipal Housing Department and three fines from Public Health, the equipment remains in operation.
Not only has the case gone unpunished, but the State has decided arrest at least twice - in less than a month - the independent journalist for claiming her rights.
According to Cubalex's legal team, this violation is drastically aggravated due to the inaction and complicity of the Cuban police and prosecutors. The authorities are preventing Suárez and his mother from accessing justice, denying them the possibility of filing complaints or simply dismissing their grievances without even investigating them., even though there is ample evidence demonstrating the illegal actions of their perpetrators.
Far from protecting them, the State systematically revictimizes Yania, who is detained, subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment, charged, and placed under house arrest each time her perpetrators decide to report the abuse, with the sole objective of silencing her. It is important to note that, to achieve this, have consistently used their status as “dissidents”, in order to ensure that it is criminalized and to divert attention from the true heart of the conflict.
Those responsible
Her assailants have been identified as Malinayi García Cabrera, a Cuban citizen, and her husband, German citizen Friedrich Eisenhauer, who is the CEO of the multinational FECOM SA., a commercial company of Panamanian origin that operates in Cuba as a foreign branch authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
Mr. Eisenhauer is allegedly benefiting from the impunity granted to him by the Cuban state due to his status as a foreigner and corporate representative, allowing him to act outside the law and profit from the violation of Yania's and her mother's rights. However, the privilege afforded by his foreign status and his complicity with Cuban authorities is not an absolute shield; using Yania's dissident status to allow the Cuban repressive apparatus to harass, repress, and violate her rights makes him an accomplice to these violations. This leads to legal and criminal liability before one's own country and the international community.
Article 7 of the German Criminal Code establishes the possibility of prosecuting its citizens for crimes committed abroad. By exploiting Yania's status as a dissident and filing false criminal charges against her, with the aim of having the Cuban state arrest and prosecute her and thus obtain a benefit, Eisenhauer would be committing at least two crimes that can be prosecuted under German law. The crime of incitement, defined in Article 26, establishes the figure of the instigator to punish anyone who intentionally induces another to commit an illegal act, as in this case; and the crime of false accusation, defined in Article 164, applies to anyone who accuses another person of an unlawful act with the intention of instigating legal proceedings or other measures against them.
It is essential to draw attention to Mr. Eisenhauer's status as a representative of an international company operating in Cuba, with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. From this position, he is obligated to observe and implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, better known as Ruggie's Principles, which should be understood as a coherent whole and interpreted individually and collectively with the aim of improving practices related to business and human rights.
These principles, in paragraphs 11 and 12, obligate companies to refrain from infringing the human rights of others and to address any negative human rights consequences in which they are involved. Respect for human rights refers to internationally recognized human rights—which include, at a minimum, the rights set forth in the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles relating to fundamental rights established in the International Labour Organization's Declaration.
A European passport and corporate status cannot be used as a free pass to collaborate with the repressive machinery of a totalitarian state, nor to violate the health of an elderly woman and the freedom of a journalist.
We call upon the international community, the European diplomatic missions in Havana, and the German government to take note of the actions of Friedrich Eisenhauer.
Cubalex demands the immediate cessation of the harassment against Yania Suárez and her mother.