Leonardo Rodríguez Alonso, a prominent Cuban advocate for freedom of religion or belief, was released from detention March 2. He was held for two days without charge in the Provincial Unit for Investigations in the city of Santa Clara, Cuba, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, an international network, established to serve the persecuted Christian Church through advocacy, aid and prayer.
Alonso is regional coordinator for the Patmos Institute, an independent nongovernmental organization promoting freedom of religion and interreligious dialogue. His detention followed a February 15 incident in which he was summoned to the Camajuaní police station where he was verbally notified that would no longer be permitted to leave Cuba.
Patmos Founder Rev. Mario Felix Barroso told Christian Solidarity Worldwide that the Cuban government considers the peaceful defense of freedom of religion or belief to be a “counter-revolutionary activity.”
Alonso’s arrest is one of a series of religious freedom violations by the Cuban government, including a ban on purchasing construction materials to repair a Santiago church the government demolished in 2016.
Patmos also reports that government officials interrupted Bible studies held in private homes and attempted to enter the home of an Apostolic Christian when he and his wife were out of the country.
Patmos Institute has submitted a report on the state of religious freedom in Cuba to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights for its periodic review of the country.
From its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. In a world where conflicts are often traceable to intolerance of others’ religious beliefs and practices, the Church has, for more than fifty years, made the preservation of religious liberty an overriding concern.
The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
