The family of the Revd Jesús Noel Carballeda, the 44-year-old pastor of an unregistered church in Havana, is calling for his release from Valle Grande prison in San Antonio de los Baños, Havana province, where he has been imprisoned for approximately a month without charge, it was reported in March.
The Revd Carballeda’s wife, Teresa Castillo Medina, said that the pastor was imprisoned for four months five years ago, after militant Communist neighbours filed legal complaints about the church services they held in their home in Marianao. Following his imprisonment, he was put on probation and made to check in with the authorities on a regular basis.
They were barred from holding church services in their home, but the Revd Carballeda continued to lead his church, holding services in parks, rented halls and other private homes. His wife believes this is the reason behind his re-arrest.
