[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 58 (Friday, May 12, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FREEDOM FOR EMILIO LEYVA PEREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 11, 2006

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Emilio Leyva Perez, a political prisoner in totalitarian 
Cuba.
  Mr. Leyva Perez is a pro-democracy activist, President of the 
opposition group Hard Front Line and a delegate of the pro-freedom 
coalition Assembly to Promote Civil Society. Because of Mr. Leyva 
Perez's steadfast conviction in human liberty and his constant work to 
bring freedom to an island enslaved by the nightmare that is the Castro 
regime, he has been a constant target of the dictatorship.
  Amnesty International classified him as a prisoner of conscience 
after he was arrested by the terrorist regime on February 22, 2002. He 
was locked in the totalitarian gulag for over 2 years, without ever 
being convicted of a supposed ``crime.''
  The U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices--2005, describes the deplorable conditions in the 
totalitarian gulag, ``Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life 
threatening. Conditions in detention facilities also were harsh. Prison 
authorities frequently beat, neglected, isolated, and denied medical 
treatment to detainees and prisoners, particularly those convicted of 
political crimes or those who persisted in expressing their views . . . 
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 only a hole for a toilet.''
  Despite over 2 years in this hellish gulag, Mr. Leyva Perez never 
wavered in his commitment to freedom for all Cubans. As part of the 
tyrant's heinous July 2005 crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy 
opponents, on July 13, 2005, Mr. Leyva Perez and other opposition 
activists were detained whilst commemorating the ``13 de Marzo'' 
tugboat sinking of 1994, when the dictatorship murdered dozens of 
unarmed men, women and children. Once again, the tyranny has locked Mr. 
Leyva Perez in the totalitarian gulag awaiting ``trial.''
  Mr. Leyva Perez is one of the many heroes of the peaceful Cuban 
democratic movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship 
for their beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will 
always be remembered when freedom reigns again in Cuba. His bravery and 
courage in defiance of tyranny serve as a tragic reminder that the 
totalitarian gulags are full of men and women of all backgrounds and 
ages who represent the best of the Cuban nation.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Leyva Perez is suffering in a grotesque gulag 
because he believes in freedom, democracy and human rights. My 
colleagues, it is categorically unacceptable that peaceful pro-
democracy activists are languishing in the depraved prisons of tyrants.

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