Antonio Enrique González-Rodiles Fernández is a Cuban political activist who has achieved international visibility for his work as the coordinator of Estado de SATS, a forum which was created in July 2010 to encourage debate on social, cultural and political issues in Cuba. Rodiles is also coordinator of the Forum for the Rights and Freedom.
In November 2012, shortly after the arrest of an independent lawyer and journalist, Antonio Rodiles and several other government critics went to the Cuban State Security headquarters, known as Section 21 in the neighbourhood of Marianao in Havana, to enquire after her whereabouts. Before they could reach the building they were approached by 20 people, all plain-clothed, as two officials from the Ministry of the Interior looked on. Antonio Rodiles was reportedly knocked to the ground and pinned down by several men. Several of the other activists were also manhandled and were forced into a police vehicle and sent to various police stations around Havana. All were released by 11 November, but Antonio Rodiles remained in prison. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action call for his release. He was finally released after 19 days in a prison cell.
Rodiles sent an open letter to Cuban president Raul Castro, dated Dec 6th 2013, to protest against the multiple threats and pressure he has received because of this dissent activities. http://translatingcuba.com/letter-from-antonio-g-rodiles-to-raul-castro-antonio-rodiles/
In December 2013, Rodiles and Estado de SATS hosted a meeting about human rights at his house in Havana, with the participation of dissidents and artists from Cuba and other countries. The Cubanstate security police surrounded his house and detained several people who wanted to join the meeting. Rodiles was also detained, but freed hours later.
Arrest in 2015
While walking in Havana on July 5, 2015 on the way to a peaceful protest, a civilian car driven by two men in civilian car stopped him. The two unknown men, presumably part of the country's secret police, demanded he enter the car. He refused, however, to enter a civilian car and asked for a regular police vehicle to come if he was to enter a vehicle. The men jumped and attacked him. They wrestled him on the street in an attempt to forcefully drag him into the car. After being choked, handcuffed and thrown in the back of the civilian vehicle, the agents continued to beat him. While in the car and handcuffed, his nose was broken while he continued to yell, "Viva Cuba libre" and "Viva derechos humanos".