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Uncommon, unusual lawsuit against Cuban lawyer


The Register of Lawyers in Guantanamo wants to annul one man's registration.

Lawyer and member of the independent law association “Corriente Agramontista,” Roberto Quiñones received a notification this past January 30, stating that a legal proceeding had been initiated to annul his registration in the Register of Lawyers of Guantánamo.

The 56 year old lawyer graduated from the University of Havana in 1981. He told Martinoticias that he has five days to appeal the decision. He and his colleagues at Corriente Agramontista regard this move the registry as unusual.

"Although I will appeal the motion, I have no hope because in Cuba, there are no institutions of any kind," said the lawyer.

Quiñones was jailed in 1990 after being found guilty of "illegal buying and selling of homes.” After serving his sentence in December 2006, he waited five years as required by Cuban regulatory laws to ask for readmission to practice law.

In 2012, he presented his request but was denied. He was told his credentials were obsolete because he had not practiced law in such a long time, Quinones said.

In an attempt to rebut that argument, Quiñones asked the pastor of the Cathedral of Guantánamo and the Bishop of that diocese for a document explaining that in those years, he had been devoted to offering pro bono advice to families of prisoners who didn’t have the money to pay for a lawyer. However, those documents were used against him, because as he tells it, “I've been told that I am doing that work illegally and therefore cannot reintegrate into the system of lawyers."

Local authorities are applying two different laws to Quiñones case, and based on such documents exonerate him of the possibility of carrying out his profession in a lawful manner. The lawyer considers this an aggravation being used against him, "as is done against all in Cuba who want to freely express their opinion and live a life consistent with what they thin.”

René Gómez Manzano, independent counsel and independent manager of “Corriente Agramontista,” told Martinoticias that this is the first time such an action is imposed on a Cuban lawyer. He described the event as "uncommon and unusual" and said that there are no known records throughout the country with incidents of this nature--not even among other independent lawyers who have been imprisoned for political or criminal offenses.

According to Gómez Manzano, denying Quiñones the right to practice again and opening a case against him for having given free assistance to people in need could be due to a local initiative or to a higher order, but he prefers the first alternative. "With these people, you never know," said Gomez.

Roberto Quiñones is an independent journalist in Cuba. His opinion articles are regularly published on the digital page Cubanet. He believes that what has happened is a form of repression.
According to Gómez Manzano, deny the right to exercise again for being "outdated" and open a case against Quiñones for having assisted free of charge to people in need could be due to a local initiative or a higher order but he prefers the first alternative "but with these people never know," he said Gomez.
Lawyer Roberto Quiñones is an independent journalist in Cuba . Their opinion articles are regularly published on the digital page Cubanet so consider that what happened is a form of repression on his person " is also applied against Cuba all who want to freely express their opinion and consistent with a project life what they think,"he concluded.
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    Idolidia Darias

    Idolidia Darias hails from Santa Clara, Cuba. A teacher by trade, she's worked with educational and cultural institutions in the province of Villa Clara. She has authored two books on the early years of confrontation between peasant guerrillas and the totalitarian regime in Escambray. Also a freelance journalist, she has been exiled in Miami since 2004.  She also maintains a blog, in Spanish, La frontera transparente (The Transparent Frontier). 

    Follow her on Twitter: @idolidiadarias
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