Eduardo Cardet, left, and Danilo "El Sexto" Maldonado
Cuban democracy activist Rosa Maria Paya says she will present to United Nations human rights officials information about the arrests of activists Danilo Maldonado and Eduardo Cardet in the days after the death of the dictator Fidel Castro.
Both Cardet, the national coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement, which was founded by Paya's father Osvaldo Paya, and Maldonado, a graffiti artist known as "El Sexto," were arrested after letting it be known they were less than overwhelmed by Castro's death.
El Sexto produced a video in which he mocked Castro, and Cardet criticized the regime for imposing a mandatory period of mourning for the dictator.
"It is impossible for our people to be able to freely and spontaneously express their true feelings about this event," Cardet told a Spanish radio station. "Castro was a man who was widely hated and rejected by our people"
El Sexto was arrested Nov. 26. His mother reports he has been beaten while in jail, and he has started a hunger strike. Amnesty International has declared El Sexto to be a "prisoner of conscience."
Similarly Cardet was arrested Nov. 30, after being "savagely beaten" in front of his young children, Paya told Martinoticias.com
There have been reports of other anti-government activists being arrested after Castro's death, and Paya said she is likely to present information on those cases to the UN, as well.
