Tag: harassment

‘Hope is resistance’: An interview with CSW’s India Researcher

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, India

CSW relies extensively on the documenters, journalists, experts and activists that gather first-hand evidence of violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in the countries we work on.

Last month, our Advocacy Intern Anna Shannon spoke with CSW’s India Researcher, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, to discuss what her work entails, the state of FoRB in India, and where she sees hope for the future.

As CSW’s India Researcher, what does your work entail?

My work entails documenting and reporting on violations of religious freedom across India, particularly against Muslims and Christians. So, whenever there are any attacks or any instances of discrimination against Muslims or Christians, I speak to victims, eyewitnesses, sometimes the lawyers who are working on these cases and I write the report.

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Where are they? Carmen María Sáenz Martínez and Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda are prisoners of a regime solely interested in its own survival

Posted on by cswpress in Latin America, Nicaragua

At 6am on 10 August 2024, fifteen police officers wearing ski masks and carrying AK-47s arrested 49-year-old Carmen María Sáenz Martínez at her home in Lomas de Santo Tomas in Matagalpa City, Nicaragua.

Two hours later police in two patrol cars detained Carmen’s colleague Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda, age 58, at the Guadalupana Farm in Samulali in the San Ramón Municipality.

Both women worked with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Matagalpa, formerly led by the now exiled Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, who spent nearly a year and a half in prison before he was expelled to the Vatican in January 2024. Lesbia had worked with the diocese’s rural and urban credit project since 2006, and Carmen as a justice promoter in marriage annulment cases since 2018.

Their families have not heard from them since.

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¿Dónde están? Carmen María Sáenz Martínez y Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda son prisioneras de un régimen que solo busca su propia supervivencia

Posted on by cswpress in español, Latin America ES, Nicaragua ES

A las 6 de la mañana del 10 de agosto de 2024, quince agentes de policía con pasamontañas portando rifles AK-47 arrestaron a Carmen María Sáenz Martínez, de 49 años, en su casa en Lomas de Santo Tomás en la ciudad de Matagalpa, Nicaragua. 

Dos horas después, la policía en dos patrullas detuvo a la colega de Carmen, Lesbia del Socorro Gutiérrez Poveda, de 58 años, en la Finca Guadalupana en Samulalí en el Municipio de San Ramón. 

Ambas mujeres trabajaban con la Diócesis Católica Romana de Matagalpa, anteriormente dirigida por el ahora exiliado obispo Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, quien pasó casi un año y medio en prisión antes de ser expulsado del país hacia al Vaticano en enero de 2024. Lesbia había trabajado con el proyecto de crédito rural y urbano de la diócesis desde 2006, y Carmen como promotora de justicia en casos de anulación de matrimonios, desde 2018. 

Desde los arrestos, sus familias no han sabido nada de ellas.  

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Every Sunday…

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

Every Sunday, between 12:30pm and 1pm, Berta Soler Fernández prepares herself.  She and her husband, Ángel Moya Acosta step outside their home, a square, two story building painted red, with a light green porch. They have every intention of making their way to a Roman Catholic Church in the Miramar section of Havana, Cuba. The church is named for Saint Rita of Cascia, the patron saint of abuse, loss, peace, desperate cases and lost causes. They will attend Mass and offer up prayers.  

Berta is dressed all in white. 

Every Sunday, between 12:30pm and 1pm, Berta and Ángel open the door of their home and are met by National Revolutionary Police (NRP) officers and Department of State Security (DSS) agents. Mobs of paramilitary members, some holding signs with offensive and insulting messages, hold up mobile phones as they record the couple’s movements. The two are forced into DSS cars with private license plates and, instead of going to Mass, they are taken to an NRP station. They are ordered to undergo an intrusive medical examination. They refuse because they have not asked for an examination and know that they will not be provided with the results anyway. Those will go to the DSS. Berta and Ángel are then sent to semi-dark prison cells where they will be held until the following morning. They will be taken by car and dropped off near their home, which also serves as the national headquarters for the Ladies in White, a dissident group that has been holding peaceful protests in support of political prisoners since 2003. 

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Cada Domingo…

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Cada domingo, entre las 12:30pm y las 13:00pm, Berta Soler Fernández se alista. Ella y su marido, Ángel Moya Acosta, salen de su casa, un edificio cuadrado de dos pisos pintado de rojo, con un porche verde claro. Tienen la intención de dirigirse a una iglesia católica romana en la sección Miramar de La Habana, Cuba. La iglesia lleva el nombre de Santa Rita de Casia, la santa patrona de los casos desesperados, del abuso, de la pérdida, de la paz, y de las causas perdidas. Asistirán a misa y ofrecerán sus oraciones. 

Berta está vestida toda de blanco. 

Cada domingo, entre las 12:30pm y las 13:00pm, Berta y Ángel abren la puerta de su casa y son recibidos por oficiales de la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR) y agentes del Departamento de Seguridad del Estado (DSE). Multitudes de paramilitares, algunos con carteles con mensajes ofensivos e insultantes, sostienen teléfonos móviles mientras graban los movimientos de la pareja. Los dos son obligados a subir a coches del DSE con matrícula privada y, en lugar de ir a misa, los llevan a una comisaría de la PNR. Les ordenan que se sometan a un examen médico invasivo. Se niegan porque no han pedido el examen y saben que, de todos modos, no les proporcionarán los resultados. Éstos irán al DSE. Berta y Ángel son enviados a celdas penitenciarias semioscuras donde permanecerán retenidos hasta la mañana siguiente. Los llevarán en coche y los dejarán cerca de su casa, que también sirve como sede nacional de las Damas de Blanco, un grupo disidente que lleva realizando protestas pacíficas en apoyo de los presos políticos desde 2003. 

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