Cuba's Crackdown Continues: Pastor Under House Arrest For Loud Worship Services

Crackdown: Over One Hundred Churches in Cuba Were Demolished in 2015 after the Government Declared 2,000 Assemblies of God Churches Illegal

By Joseph Hartropp
Christian Today

Pastor Juan Carlos Nuñez was sentenced by a civil court in the city of Las Tunas, Cuba on 22 November, Morning Star News reports. Pastor Nuñez leads the house church Apostolic House of the King of Glory, which is home to 550 worshippers.

Nuñez was sentenced under Cuba's environmental protection laws with "disturbing the peace", but a source close to the pastor said the sentence was overly hasty, giving Nuñez no chance to make a defence.

"The attorney did not have time to prepare because it was a summary [immediate] judgment, without any chance to be able to defend him," the source said. "There was no advance warning."

The charge against Nuñez came from complaints by Nuñez's neighbours that his church's sound system was too loud. Nuñez says that he obliged his neighbours and replaced the church speakers with smaller, 150 watt units. His congregation meets in the courtyard of an apartment complex in Las Tunas, for which Nuñez says the minimal amplification barely sufficed.

"We complied with the neighbors' wishes, but the case still went to court," he said.

The Cuban authorities deployed a force of high-ranking 'black beret' army soldiers at the courthouse on the day of Nuñez's trial. Local observers said that such heavy force was excessive given that the court only tries civil cases and misdemeanors, not criminals charged with felonies.

Nuñez said: "This was a form of intimidation, a show of power...You see, they feared there might be protests, because they themselves know that what they are doing is unjust."

The pastor hopes to appeal what he saw as an overly harsh sentence. "Our mission is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are suffering for that cause," he said. "We were treated as criminals and enemies of the government. We are children of God unjustly accused and convicted."

Story of Pastor's House Arrest Continues