The family of the Revd Jesús Noel Carballeda, the 44-year-old pastor of an unregistered church in Havana, is calling for his release from Valle Grande prison in San Antonio de los Baños, Havana province, where he has been imprisoned for approximately a month without charge, it was reported in March.
The Revd Carballeda’s wife, Teresa Castillo Medina, said that the pastor was imprisoned for four months five years ago, after militant Communist neighbours filed legal complaints about the church services they held in their home in Marianao. Following his imprisonment, he was put on probation and made to check in with the authorities on a regular basis.
They were barred from holding church services in their home, but the Revd Carballeda continued to lead his church, holding services in parks, rented halls and other private homes. His wife believes this is the reason behind his re-arrest.
Refusal to register
The Revd Carballeda’s church is linked to the Apostolic Movement, a fast-growing network of Protestant churches, which the Cuban government has refused to register. Because the religious group is unregistered, all of the affiliated church’s activities are technically illegal and they are unable to apply for permits for a designated place of worship. The detention of Carballeda is part of a larger crackdown on religious freedom in Cuba over the past few years.
