The arrest coincides with the anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata and the Brussels visit of Cuban Foreign Minister the IDC condemns the recent arrest of Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas.

The Executive Secretary of the Centrist Democrat International (CDI), Antonio López-Istúriz, today condemned the recent arrest of Cuban dissident and human rights Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament, Guillermo Fariñas. “This arrest is attached to the Cuban regime’s harassment and arrests suffered by Fariñas other in recent weeks to try to express their ideas. Besides the new arrest coincides with the first anniversary of the death of fellow Orlando Zapata, and came just as the Cuban foreign minister, deliberately ignoring what was happening on the island, called in Brussels on the EU to lift the “Common Position” on Cuba “he said. According to Lopez-Isturiz, “the High Representative for European Foreign Policy, Catherine Ashton, must take account of the Cuban Government’s strategy hypocritical, do not hesitate to offer dialogue in Brussels while at the same time on the island represses any critical voice. This attempt to deceive has highlighted the Cuban foreign minister. ““For its part, the EPP and its member parties continue to demand the Cuban regime to release political prisoners who remain incarcerated and to give up the constant harassment to which he submits to the dissidents. The EU common position should be maintained until Cuba unequivocally not respect human rights and is committed to initiating a peaceful transition to a democratic system, “he added. “As Secretary General of the EPP will debate the latest developments in Cuba with the 14 EU Prime Ministers belonging to the PPE at the Summit in Helsinki on March 4. I also invite the European Socialist Party and Socialist International to condemn the Cuban regime’s repression with the same firmness with which it does in other cases, “the MEP also López-Istúriz.