Case History: Guido Sigler Amaya

On 4 February 2011, human rights defender Mr Guido Sigler Amaya was released from detention by the Cuban authorities. Guido Sigler Amaya, who had been imprisoned since March 2003, is a member of the human rights group Movimiento Opción Alternativa (Alternative Option Movement) based in the Matanzas Province of north-western Cuba.

Amnesty International has reported that on 4 February 2011, Guido Sigler Amaya became the 42nd individual to be released from a group of 52 human rights defenders and political activists which the Cuban authorities agreed to release in July 2010 following talks between President Raúl Castro and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church.

All of those released to date, apart from Guido Sigler Amaya and one other individual, have gone into exile in Spain. A further 10 human rights defenders and political activists from among this group remain imprisoned.

Guido Sigler Amaya, together with his two brothers, were among some 75 individuals arrested as part of a crackdown on human rights defenders and political activists in March 2003. It has been alleged that many of the subsequent trials were rushed, and fair trial guarantees were not observed. Guido Sigler Amaya was sentenced to a 20-year prison term for “counter-revolutionary activities”, which reportedly included calling for the release of political prisoners.