Cuba: A section of the penal code entitled Abandonment of Functions and its use to punish employees of the government who defect and abandon their positions (2002-May 2003)

Law No. 62, the Penal Code (Codigo Penal) of Cuba, Article 135.1, Abandonment of Functions (Abandono de Funciones), states that any civil servant or employee fulfilling a mission in a foreign country who abandons their mission, or completes, or fails to return to Cuba when required, expressly or tacitly, will be deprived of their freedom for three to eight years (Cuba 23 Dec. 1987). Moreover, Article 135.2 mentions that this sanction can be applied to civil employees who, upon the fulfilment of their mission abroad and against the express order of the Cuban government, move to another country (ibid.).

Information about the use of Article 135.1 and 135.2 in prosecuting Cuban civil servants could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in 19 May 2003 correspondence, the Director of Encuentro, an Internet-based magazine about Cuba, explained that it is difficult to identify specific cases of civil servants abandoning their posts because "thousands" of government employees such as doctors, professors, scientists, athletes and professionals have "deserted" (desertado) the Cuban regime while on official, overseas missions for the state. The Director added that this is a "daily and generalized phenomenon" (un fenomeno diario y generalizado) and that one method the government uses to retaliate against these defectors, among others, is to not allow members of the defector's family to travel for five years (19 May 2003). This information was corroborated in Country Reports 2002, which stated that

the Government has a policy of denying exit permission for several years to relatives of individuals who successfully migrated illegally (e.g., merchant seamen who defected while overseas and sports figures who defected while on tours abroad) (31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 2d).

In a November 2002 article about two Cuban soccer players who defected to the U.S., one of the defectors, Alberto Delgado, stated that if they had been caught, they "would have been kicked off the national team" and sent to prison (Miami Herald 13 Nov. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. "Cuba." U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC. [Accessed 21 May 2003]

Cuba. 23 December 1987. Ley No. 62 - Codigo Penal. (Cubanet) [Accessed 12 May 2003]

Encuentro, Madrid. 19 May 2003. Correspondence with Director.

Miami Herald. 13 November 2002. Stephen F. Holder. "Cuban Soccer Defectors Starting Anew at St.Thomas." [20 May 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

NEXIS

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites:

Amnesty International

Coordinadora Social Democrata de Cuba

Cuba Encuentro

Cuba: Issues and Answers

Cubanet News

Cuba Source

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Infoburo.org

Instituto de Esudios Cubanos

Latinamerica Press

La Voz de Cuba Libre

Reporters Without Borders

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