[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  FREEDOM FOR JOSE DANIEL FERRER GARCIA AND LUIS ENRIQUE FERRER GARCIA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 2, 2006

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
remind my colleagues about Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and his brother 
Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, both political prisoners in totalitarian 
Cuba.
  Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia is the regional coordinator for the 
Christian Liberation Movement and his brother Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer 
Garcia is also active in the same movement. They are peaceful pro-
democracy activists who believe in the cause of freedom for the people 
of Cuba. Because of their steadfast belief in human liberty, and their 
constant work to bring freedom to an island enslaved by the nightmare 
that is the Castro regime, these courageous brothers have been a 
constant target of the dictatorship.
  According to Amnesty International, Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia has 
been harassed and detained numerous times for his pro-democracy 
activism. In January 2002, he was forced from a bus and beaten by the 
tyrant's thugs because of his activities and ideals. Amnesty 
International reports that Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, in December 
1999, was sentenced to 6 months of ``restricted freedom.'' In March 
2003, as part of Castro's heinous crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy 
activists, both brothers were arrested. Subsequently, in two sham 
trials, Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was sentenced to 25 years in the 
totalitarian gulag and Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia was sentenced to 
28 years in the gulag.
  While confined in the inhuman horror of Castro's gulag, both brothers 
have been the constant target of abuse. According to the Department of 
State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004:
  ``On January 1, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia reported serving 45 days in 
a punishment cell for protesting the suspension of correspondence and 
the delivery of food and medical supplies from his family. He did not 
receive food or water during the first 3 days of his confinement and 
slept on a cement floor. Authorities confiscated his Bible and 
prohibited any contact with other prisoners.''
  According to Amnesty International, Mr. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia 
was transferred to a punishment cell for having bravely refused to 
militarily salute a warden of the gulag. The Department of State 
Country Report describes the true horrors of a punishment cell: 
``Prisoners sometimes were held in `punishment cells,' which usually 
were located in the basement of a prison, with continuous semi-dark 
conditions, no available water, and a hole for a toilet.'' This is in 
addition to the grotesque depravity of the gulag that also includes 
beatings, isolation, denial of medical treatment to detainees, and 
multiple forms of abuse.
  These two brothers are brilliant examples of the heroism of the Cuban 
people. No matter how intense the repression, no matter how 
horrifically brutal the consequences of a dignified struggle for 
liberty, the totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all 
backgrounds and ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.
  Mr. Speaker, it is as inconceivable as it is unacceptable that, while 
the world stands by in silence and acquiescence, these two brothers are 
systematically tortured because of their belief in freedom, democracy, 
human rights and the rule of law. My Colleagues, we must demand the 
immediate and unconditional release of Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, Jose 
Daniel Ferrer Garcia and every political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba.

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