Oscar Espinosa Chepe - Arrest and Trial

Arrest and Trial

On March 19, 2003, Espinosa was arrested during the Black Spring after security agents reportedly spent 10 hours searching his apartment. At a trial on April 3, 2003, Espinosa was accused of "activities against the integrity and sovereignty of the State". Authorities stated that Espinosa had received money from the U.S. government, and that U.S. $13,600 had been discovered sewn into one of his jackets. Espinosa was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was one of approximately 75 dissidents arrested and tried.

Following a rejected appeal by Espinosa, the Representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Christine Chanet, appealed to President Castro to pardon him. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appealed to Castro on Espinosa's behalf, calling on the government to provide treatment for his liver disease. A spokesman described the Cuban government as "going out of its way" to be inhumane to its prisoners. Espinosa's wife Leiva reported that he had lost forty pounds since his arrest and was kept in a cell with no windows or running water.

Leiva became active in the Ladies in White, a group of wives of political prisoners which marched through Havana each Sunday protesting their husbands' detention. She continued to march even after Espinosa's early release.