Cuba: European Parliament mentions imprisoned Christian pastor in resolution denouncing Cuban “systemic” rights abuses

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The European Parliament named Christian pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo among other prisoners in an urgent resolution it passed last week to denounce “systematic abuses” by Cuba’s government against citizens, Evangelical Focus (EF) reports.

Passed on December 16, the EU Parliament resolution denounces “in the strongest terms the ongoing systematic abuses against protestors, political dissidents, religious leaders, human rights activists and independent artists, among others.”

The resolution specifically mentions Reverend Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo, together with José Daniel Ferrer, Lady in White Aymara Nieto, Maykel Castillo, Luis Robles, Félix Navarro, Luis Manuel Otero, Andy Dunier García and Yunior García Aguilera, as Cuban citizens who were “arbitrarily arrested” and jailed by the Cuba’s communist ruling party, EF reports.

The EU resolution calls for the prisoners’ “immediate and unconditional release.” In particular, the resolution states that the European Union may indefinitely suspend an agreement it signed with Cuba in 2016 called the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA). The PDCA, cites “clear conditions linked to the improvement of human rights and democracy in Cuba.”

Pastor Fajardo leads the Independent Mount of Zion Church in Palma Soriano, Cuba, EF reports. The pastor has been in prison since his arrest on 11 July 2021, after he took part in nationwide protests against government rights violations. His trial will reportedly take place on 21, 22 or 23 December, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported.

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