Oswaldo Payá
Cuban activist (1952–2012) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Oswaldo Payá?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas (29 February 1952 – 22 July 2012) was a Cuban political activist. A Roman Catholic, he founded the Christian Liberation Movement in 1987 to oppose the one-party rule of the Cuban Communist Party. He attracted international attention for organizing a petition drive known as the Varela Project, in which 25,000 signatories petitioned the Cuban government to guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as well as to institute a multi-party democracy. In recognition of his work, he received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize and People in Need's Homo Homini Award.
Oswaldo Payá | |
---|---|
Born | Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas (1952-02-29)29 February 1952 Havana, Cuba |
Died | 22 July 2012(2012-07-22) (aged 60) Bayamo, Granma Province, Cuba |
Occupation | Engineer |
Organization | Christian Liberation Movement |
Known for | Varela Project, opposition to Cuban Communist Party |
Spouse | Ofelia Acevedo |
Children | 3, including Rosa María |
Awards | Homo Homini Award (1999) Sakharov Prize (2002) |
On 22 July 2012, he died in a car crash under controversial circumstances. The Cuban government stated that the driver had lost control of the vehicle and collided with a tree, while Payá's children and one of the car's passengers asserted that the car had been deliberately run off of the road. In 2023, a ruling by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) held the Cuban state responsible for the murder of Oswaldo Payá.[1][2]