Israel Gonzalez Leyva
Released March 9, 1995

Guillermo Sambra Ferrándiz
Released May 4, 1998

Reinaldo Alfaro Garcia
Released March 23, 1999

Amnesty Halton Hills took on these Prisoners of Conscience, wrote many letters on their behalf, and celebrated their eventual release. Read their stories below.

Amnesty International (AI) campaigns for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience.These are people who are imprisoned for their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs or by reason of their ethnic origin, sex, colour or language, provided they have not used or advocated violence.

After strong lobbying of the Cuban government by Amnesty International, Israel M. Gonzalez Leyva, was released unexpectedly from prison in his native Cuba on Thursday, March 9, 1995 after serving three years of a 10 year sentence. Israel Gonzalez Leyva was convicted of "enemy propaganda" at Holguin People's Provincial Court January 30, 1992. Amnesty International (AI) considered him to be a prisoner of conscience.

His case was assigned Amnesty Halton Hills. For two years the group sent a barrage of letters and petitions to Cuban officials calling for the unconditional release of Gonzalez Leyva. His release, unfortunately, was given only on the condition he leave the country. He is now exiled in United States.

After his release he spoke on the phone to local Amnesty members:

“I am sure if it wasn’t for the Amnesty International group I would still be in jail. I am so grateful that you didn’t give up on me.”

GuillermoSambra Ferrándiz was arrested on February 14, 1993, along with his father, Cecilio Ismael Sambra Haber and two other associates, Jose Antonio Frandin Cribe and Moises Raul Cintras Pacheco. They were all charged with "rebelion" (rebellion - articles 98 and 99 of the Cuban Penal Code) based on allegations that they had printed material stating that the February 1993 elections were fraudulent. The only political party permitted to participate in that election was the Cuban Communist Party.

AI Halton Hills Group 196 worked with Guillermo's father, Cecilio Ismael Sambra Haber (released to exile in Canada in 1997) and with Amnesty groups in Belgium, Dublin, and East Hants, England to secure Guillermo’s release May 4, 1998. He arrived in Canada the next day with his children and his wife Miriam. Members of Halton Hills 196 met them at the airport. This case is highlighted in the Amnesty International TV special Light in the Darkness: The Fight for Human Rights.

On Canada Day 1998, Guillermo Sambra, Cecilio Ismael Sambra, and their families joined the local group in Glen Williams and participated in the annual parade.

The father and brother of Guillermo's wife, Miriam, Victor Bressler Villazan and Emilio Bressler Cisneros, who were also arrested in 1993 for allegedly distributing a pamphlet criticizing the Cuban government, were released much later after continued lobbying by Amnesty International and AI Group 196.

Shortly after Group 196 joined groups in England, France, Sweden, Germany, and Spain working toward his release, prisoner of conscience Reinaldo Alfaro Garcia was released on March 23, 1999 reportedly on condition that he leave the country. He had completed over half his sentence.

Reinaldo Alfaro García, Vice-President of the unofficial Asociación de Lucha Frente a la Injusticia (ALFIN), Association for Struggle against Injustice, and a member of the executive of the unofficial Partido Solidaridad Democrático (PSD), Democratic Solidarity Party, had been detained on 8 May 1997. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, charged with “difusión de noticias falsas contra la paz internacional”, “spreading false news against international peace”.

He was arrested the day before he and some mothers of political prisoners were to hand over a request for amnesty for their sons to the President of the National Assembly of Popular Power. Just before his detention Reinaldo Alfaro reportedly spoke about the request on a US-based radio station that broadcasts to Cuba, calling on the mothers of political prisoners to gather outside the National Assembly. According to reports, he is seeking political asylum in the USA via the US Interest Section in Havana.

Now Amnesty Halton Hills is working for the release of 13 Cuban Prisoners of Conscience held in various jails for speaking against their government. You can write a letter and help us to help them!