Statement on Pastor Lorenzo

As members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, we express grave concern at the unjust detention of Reverend Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo who has been imprisoned in La Caoba, Cuba. We are concerned that Rev. Rosales Fajardo, an Evangelical Protestant pastor and leader of the unregistered nondenominational Monte de Scion Church, reportedly has been severely beaten and abused while in detention, based on his religious leadership role in Cuba and his Christian activities.

We condemn the harassment of Rev. Rosales Fajardo ongoing since 2012, linked to his participation in local protests in an act of faith to demand justice and equality, key tenets of his religious beliefs and ministry. According to reports, State Security subsequently detained Rev. Rosales Fajardo in an unknown location, beat him and treated him in a violent and humiliating manner. We condemn his arbitrary arrest by the police and military in Palma Soriano, Cuba, on July 11th 2021, during historic, peaceful protests across the island.

The prosecutors argued for a 10 year sentence and charged him with four crimes under the Cuban Criminal Code; namely, criminal incitement, public disorder, disrespect, and assault. Subsequently, he was sentenced to a combined 8 years’ imprisonment. The trial took place on 20 – 21 December 2021 and lacked even a veneer of respect for fair trial guarantees. Throughout the court proceedings, prosecutors denied access to Rev. Rosales Fajardo’s witnesses to speak in his defense and denied his lawyer access to his file prior to the trial.

In prison authorities have singled him out for humiliation, with prison guards vocally denigrating his religious beliefs. In 2022, in the days leading up to Easter, prison officials subjected him to solitary confinement, in a ‘punishment cell’ for his refusal to obey orders to stop sharing his faith inside the prison. In May 2022, the government communicated that Rev. Rosales Fajardo’s sentence had been reduced to 7 years’ imprisonment without any explanation, and later transferred him to La Coaba prison where he remains detained today. Public prosecutors rejected his appeal and during the appeals proceedings, judicial authorities permitted only the prosecutor’s side to introduce evidence, which included the testimony of 12 police officers.

We strongly urge the Cuban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo and permit him to freely return to his pastoral work in Cuba. We moreover call upon Cuba to uphold freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression and call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained after the 11 July protests in 2021.

Signatories: Estonia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Romania, Taiwan, U.S., and the Czech Republic.