Imprisoned for Neutrality

On June 19, 1949, a group of exiled Dominicans flew to the Dominican Republic in an attempt to overthrow dictator Rafael Trujillo. Although the invasion was quickly crushed, Trujillo’s government imprisoned those who refused to perform military service, as well as any whom the government viewed as foes. Among the first Witnesses to be imprisoned for refusing to do military service were León, Enrique, and Rafael Glass, along with some of León’s fellow employees, who were also Witnesses.

“[My fellow employees and I] were arrested and questioned by the military secret service,” explained León. “After being threatened, we were released, only to be called up for military service a few days later without the usual procedure. On refusing to meet the demands, we were sent to prison. There we found four other Witnesses, two of whom were my fleshly brothers. After our release, we were again sentenced. This happened three times, with only one or more days between terms. We spent close to seven years in prison, the last term being five years.”

Prison life was a constant test for the brothers. Prisoners and guards taunted them day and night. The commander of Fort Ozama, where they were initially incarcerated, said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses, when you become witnesses of the Devil, advise me, so that I can let you out.” However, opposers could not break the integrity of those faithful brothers. León explained why: ‘We always had strength from Jehovah to endure and we could see even in little details His intervention in our favor. Even when we were whipped or beaten with sticks and rifles, we bore it well, since Jehovah gave us the strength to endure.’