“SET THEM FREE” is a section dedicated to denounce repression, expose systematic human rights violations in Cuba and call for solidarity in Canada with the release of all Cuban political prisoners. 

In Democratic Spaces, we consider that a key step towards democratic transition begins with the release of all Cuban political prisoners and the elimination of all laws, mechanisms, and repressive institutions that lead to the imprisonment of anyone in Cuba for thinking differently and exercising fundamental human rights. 

For several years, Democratic Spaces has been conducting an ongoing campaign to raise awareness about the plight of the prisoner of conscience and pro-democracy leader José Daniel Ferrer García, as well as Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Félix Navarro, Saylí Navarro, and many other brave individuals who, without belonging to opposition groups, stepped forward in the democratic protests of July 11, 2021.

We have consistently urged the Government of Canada, civil society, and all concerned parties to utilize all available legal and political mechanisms to advocate for the release of all political prisoners as a priority in humanitarian and human rights efforts. In pursuit of this objective, we have actively conducted a campaign to raise awareness and visibility in Canada regarding the serious human rights situation in Cuba.

As director of Democratic Spaces, Michael Lima has worked tirelessly to give visibility to the worsening human rights situation in Cuba through the presentation of petitions in Parliament, key participation in the a motion on Cuba presented  in the Senate of Canada & publication of articles and reports in some of Canada’s leading outlets and national leading. They include Macdonald Laurier Institute, the Globe and Mail, The Bureau, The Hub, Diario las Américas, Toronto Star, Diario de Cuba. Furthermore, we have provided political analysis and insights on Cuba & Latin America in CBC, The News Forum, EFE, Martí Noticias, America Teve, Cubanet, 14yMedio, ADN Cuba, El American, Ciber Cuba - as well as references citing Democratic Spaces’s advocacy in the Ottawa Citizen & the Montreal Gazette.

Democratic Spaces as worked with other key civil society organizations to organize meetings and events hosted by Canada’s leading think tanks, as well as meetings with Global Affairs high ranking officials, parliamentarians from Canada's main political parties, & prominent pro democracy civil society members in Canada, Cuba, the United States, Spain, and other countries.

One key project we have worked on since its inception is the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba’s  proposal regarding the Amnesty Law and the Decriminalization of Dissent Law project. This project remains as relevant today as it was when it was first proposed at the end of 2021.

Political imprisonment constitutes the most egregious of all human rights violations. After the Cuban regime brutally suppressed pro-democracy protests on July 11, 2021, the island became the leading jailer of political prisoners in the Americas, surpassing Venezuela and Nicaragua combined in the number of political detainees. According to human rights organizations like Prisoners Defenders, as of February 2024, Cuba held 1,066 political prisoners, including 33 minors and 114 women. This figure exceeds the number of political prisoners in regimes such as Venezuela, which, according to the NGO Foro Penal, has 264 political prisoners, and Nicaragua, which, according to the organization Mecanismo para el Reconocimiento de Personas Presas Políticas, had as of December 2023 119 political prisoners.

In a world where authoritarianism is on the rise, there are over a million political prisoners globally. Political imprisonment constitutes one of the most urgent human tragedies for millions of families worldwide. 

For several years, Democratic Spaces has been engaged in an ongoing raise awareness campaign to shed light on Cuban political prisoners, aiming to unite efforts for their immediate and unconditional release.

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At Democratic Spaces, we believe we have a moral debt of gratitude to those in Cuba who are behind bars in retaliation for exercising fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, association, and the press. Defending human rights is a universal cause that transcends ideologies and political parties. We call on all freedom lovers in Canada, the US, and worldwide to join us in raising awareness, sharing, and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all Cuban political prisoners.  Within weeks of the third anniversary of the July 11, 2021 pro-democracy protests, the largest peaceful and spontaneous protests in recent Cuban history, the best way to pay tribute to those who took to the streets demanding freedom and democracy and were imprisoned in retaliation is to call for their immediate and unconditional release.

On December 4, 2024, Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, appeared on NTN24’s La Noche to discuss Cuban pro-democracy leader José Daniel Ferrer, recently beaten in Mar Prison. Michael emphasized Ferrer’s decades-long fight for Cuban democracy, the symbolic weight of his struggle, and international efforts to free Cuba's political prisoners—a core goal of Democratic Spaces

On December 4, 2024, Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, gave an interview to Martí Noticias about the dire situation of Cuban political prisoners in the context of the murder by beatings of 29-year-old political prisoner Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas and the brutal beating of José Daniel Ferrer.

On December 4, 2024, Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, appears as a guest panelist on Venezuela Hoy, a political radio show on Radio Martí, hosted by journalist Alejandro Marcano to discuss the critical situation of Cuban political prisoners.

On December 2, 2024, Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, published an analytical op-ed on the platform Latinoamérica21, examining the proposed Amnesty Law by the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba. This initiative aims to release thousands of political prisoners and decriminalize dissent. The article, titled "Amnesty Now: The Fight to Free Cuba’s Political Prisoners," argues that an amnesty law in Cuba is not merely a political or legal objective but a moral obligation for those who embody courage and resistance against repression.

The article Amnesty Now: The Fight to Free Cuba’s Political Prisoners (Amnistía Ahora: La Lucha por la Liberación de los Prisioneros Políticos Cubanos) written by Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, and originally published on Latinoamérica21, is reproduced in Spanish on December 5, 2024, in Tal Cual Digital. The article examines the proposed Amnesty Law in Cuba, an initiative aimed at releasing thousands of political prisoners and decriminalizing dissent.

On November 24. 2024, Democratic Spaces issued a Press Release published on X demanding proof and the immediate and unconditional release of José Daniel Ferrer, along with all Cuban political prisoners. We also launched a campaign to record a video demanding proof and life and tagging the Ferrer’s X account. This report was published after guards at Mar Verde prison inflicted a brutal beating on José Daniel Ferrer. As of that date his wife Dr. Nelva Ortega had been denied family visits for over 20 consecutive months. 

Canada. Nov 23,. 2024. Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, joins this global campaign calling for Proof of Life for José Daniel Ferrer, a Cuban prisoner of conscience, amid reports of a brutal beating at Mar Verde Prison in Santiago de Cuba. Ferrer was arbitrarily detained on July 11, 2021, while on his way to join demonstrators in pro-democracy protests. Since August 2021, he has been held in inhumane conditions and subjected to systematic torture, including extreme isolation.

On November 22, 2024 Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces, spoke with Martí Noticias about Cuban prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García, amid reports of a brutal beating at Mar Verde Prison and his subsequent hospitalization. Since the day José Daniel Ferrer was arbitrarily detained and imprisoned on July 11, 2021, Democratic Spaces has worked tirelessly to raise awareness through various campaigns, meetings with parliamentarians, petitions, press articles, interviews, publications, and social media advocacy, calling for the release of José Daniel Ferrer and all Cuban political prisoners.

The emotional and powerful letter written on June 3. 2024 by José Daniel Ferrer, Cuban prisoner of conscience to his 5 year old son. Ferrer has been imprisoned arbitrarily since July 11, 2021, subjected to mental and physical tortures and denied from family visits for the 16th times.

Historically, transnational repression has been a systematic practice perpetrated by the Cuban regime against Cuban exiles for decades. In this article published in ICN Diario on May 10, 2024, Michael Lima examines transnational repression perpetrated by the Cuban regime on Cuban exiles in recent years. It argues that transnational repression perpetrated by the Cuban regime has increased exponentially as a result of the growth of Cuban activism worldwide.

This article, by Michael Lima Cuadra and published in Latinamerica21 on April 25, 2024, analyzes the historic relationship between dehumanizing speech against others in Cuba and politically motivated repression. It traces this relationship from the persecution of those deemed as 'the other' by the Cuban state to the current repression of dissidents and protesters.

On April 10, 2024, in response to a request from the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has granted Julio César Góngora Millo precautionary measures.

Góngora Millo is a Cuban citizen subjected by the Cuban regime to a situation of extreme vulnerability due to a disability, currently being denied an MRI and specialized medical attention, including surgery to close the wound caused by a permanent cystostomy he has endured for 11 years.

This denial is a direct consequence of his active advocacy for human rights. The Cuban regime's intention is clear: by withholding medical care, they aim to keep him permanently incapacitated, thus impeding his ability to continue advocating for human rights.

Cuba's March 2024 Crackdown:

Democratic Spaces has compiled a synopsis of repression in Cuba for the month of March 2024, focusing primarily on the regime's response to the protests on March 17th and 18th, along with other repressive actions, their context, and implications, based on reports from various human rights organizations.

This video is part of a powerful series titled 'Behind Bars: Women Political Prisoners in Cuba,' (Tras las Rejas: Presas Politicas en Cuba) produced by Periodismo de Barrio with the support of the United States Embassy in Cuba on March 27, 2024. 

In solidarity with this impactful project, Democratic Spaces has translated into English these voices calling for justice and immediate, unconditional release of over 130 women political prisoners out of a total of more than 1,000 Cubans behind bars for exercising fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, press, and assembly.

On March 26, 2024, the Provincial Court of Camagüey, consisting of Maydel Yadró Hernández, Yaneisy Estrada Robles (Ponente Judge), and Belkis Miranda Pérez, denied Aniette González's appeal, represented by her defense attorney Yanisdey Cruz, against her unjust three-year sentence for the alleged crime of "Offense against national symbols.”

At Democratic Spaces, we strongly condemn the ongoing criminalization of peaceful protests in Cuba, and the denial of the appeal filed by Cuban activist Aniette Gonzalez against her unjust three-year prison sentence for the fabricated crime of "Offense against National Symbols."

This egregious act represents a blatant violation of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and artistic freedom.

The Cuban regime employs control and surveillance measures to restrict the practice of religious freedom. In 2023, the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights documented at least 936 instances of such violations. These violations range from hindering the attendance of the Ladies in White and relatives of political prisoners at Sunday masses, to police summons and harassment.

See, ‘Exposing Religious Repression in Cuba,’ with a report from the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights on violations of religious freedoms in Cuba throughout 2023.

For visibility purposes and to raise awareness about the grave human rights situation in Cuba, in Democratic Spaces we have undertaken the task to translate to English some of the many videos circulating about the protests in Bayamo and Santiago de Cuba on March 16 and March 17, 2024. These clips recorded by anonymous brave Cubans on the streets show first hand the demands from people in Cuba in their own voice. These videos sent from Cuba were originally published in news outlets such as Marti Noticias, Cubanet, CiberCuba. 14yMedio & other news sites.

On March 18, 2024 the daughter of Jsé Daniel Ferrer, Cuban prisoner of conscience and pro democracy leader, visited him in prison after demanding to his father, denied from family visits for the past year and confirmed he is alive yet in dire health as he was able to barely got up form the prison cell floor.

In this interview with Martí Noticias Democratic spaces ratified our commitment to continue advocating tirelessly for his immediate/unconditional release, alongside all Cuban political prisoners. Dictatorships spare no cruelty when their grip weakens.

In this interview with Martí Noticias from March 7, 2024 Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces talks about the inhumane conditions in which José Daniel Ferrer García, Cuban prisoner of conscience and pro democracy leader has been subjected since arbitrarily detained on July 11, 2021 and sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison in retaliation for exercising fundamental human rights, such as a the right to freedom of speech and freedom assembly. Ferrer has been subjected to beatings, extreme isolation, sonic attacks, denial of medical attention, sleep deprivation. His wife is forced to house arrest and on 15 occasions, Dr. Nelva Ortega has been denied marriage and family visits to see his husband in the Mar Verde prison.

Feb 23, 2024, on the anniversary of the state assassination of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Cuban political prisoner who died in prison on February 23. 2010 after being brutally beaten and denied water in retaliation of a hunger strike he initiated in prison protesting against his arbitrary sentences and conditions.

On repression in Cuba in 2023 with particular emphasis on the plight of Cuban prisoners of conscience such as José Daniel Ferrer and Ladies in White jailed for exercising fundamental human rights and the overall climate of repression in Cuba in 2023.

Interview with Martí Noticias on December 28. 2023.

Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces joins this global campaign to demand proof of life and the immediate and unconditional release of José Daniel Ferrer.

Democratic Spaces applauds the decision of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to hold the Cuban dictatorship accountable for the brutal killings of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero, pro-democracy leaders.

In solidarity with the NGO ARTICLE 19, condemning the persecution and censorship of journalists in Cuba, while vehemently speaking out against the imprisonment of Cuban independent journalist Yuri Valle Roca, as two years have passed since his arbitrary arrest. On July 28, 2022, he was unjustly sentenced to five years of imprisonment as a retaliatory measure for exercising fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression and information.

In this interview with Marti Noticias I am denouncing Julio Fonseca one of the leading perpetrators in charge of the repression against José Daniel Ferrer, Cuban prisoner of conscience and his family for a decade. May 15, 2023

IN CUBA, POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE BEATEN & TORTURED.

AUDIO RECORDING: Testimony of José Daniel Ferrer García, Cuban Prisoner of Conscience denouncing a brutal beating that was inflicted on him by Lieutenant Colonel Pineda, Mar Verde Prison Warden along with Major Julio Fonseca and other thugs in front of his wife, Dr. Nelva Ortega, his toddler son Daniel José and his daughter Fatima Victoria Ferrer on December 9. 2022. The beating took place during visitation time when José Daniel complained over the confiscation of his letters sent to family members by prison officials. Audio recording of a phone conversation between José Daniel Ferrer and his wife Nelva Ortega on December 22,. 2022. This is clear evidence of torture and constitutes ground to include ALIASES Lieutenant Colonel Pineda and Major Julio Fonseca in the Magnitsky List of gross human rights abusers. They should be brought to justice and be denied visas in the United States, Canada, the European Union and other democratic nations. 

Protests in Caimanera Cuba on May 6, 2023. People peacefully took to the streets chanting, "Long live human rights," and "freedom." The protest lasted for about an hour and was brutally suppressed by Black Berets and repressive forces of the Interior Ministry. According to Netblocks Cuba experienced an internet shutdown or at least a severe slowdown in connectivity on May 6 around the time of the protests. See Summary of Protests.

Politically motivated arbitrary and violent arrest in Ciego de Avila, Cuba on April 23, 2023. Police (PNR) violently arrest a young man and forcefully try to silence his voice. While the police use violence they shout “I am Fidel,” in reference to the deceased dictator Fidel Castro who established a regime based on political persecution and repression of those who think different.

Michael Lima interviewed in Tempranito y de Mañana in Radio Martí on transnational repression against Cuban Cuban Canadians. April 25,. 2023.

On April 12, 2023, Dr. Nelva Ortega, wife of José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and Prisoner of Conscience denounced the denial of family visits to her husband, arbitrarily jailed in one of Cuba’s worst prisons, Mar Verde prison in in Santiago de Cuba.

Saylí Navarro, Cuban Prisoner of Conscience, leader of the Pedro Luis Boitel Democracy Party, Lady in White and Cubadecide promoter sends a loud and clear message that she will not leave Cuba. Mixed Women Prison in Matanzas. Cuba. March 18. 2023 where she is serving an unjust and arbitrary sentence of 8 years in prison issued on April 2022 for exercising fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Saylí refuses to accept the regime’s forced expatriation blackmail which has imposed for decades on political prisoners.

Sept 30, 2022. Sonia Álvarez mother of political prisoner Sayli Navarro denounces psychological torture/mistreatment/harassment of her daughter who has only been allowed to call her father Félix Navarro twice in 5 months held in prison while other prisoners are allowed calls twice a month.

PNR police in Cuba beating up a woman in the San Rafael Boulevard, Havana on Oct 5, 2022. People shout “abusers,” at police. Following the popular pro democracy protests on September 29, police has unleashed a wave of repression in Havana and across cuba.

CUBA has over 1,000 political prisoners. Since October 2, 2022 there are reports of 26 people detained in Cuba for their participation in peaceful protests. 19 of them remain detained as of Oct 4. 2022. Source: Justicia 11J

Deployment of repressive forces (PNR or Revolutionary National Police & the Special National Brigade or Black Berets) to crackdown on pro democracy protesters. People in Havana report the militarization of the city on Sept 29, 2022.

Rapid Response Brigades in Cuba armed with sticks and baseball bats, deployed by the regime to beat up protesters. Leading these brigades are police (PNR or Revolutionary National Police) in plain clothes arbitrarily arresting protesters.

Arbitrary and violent arrest on September 18, 2022 of Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White. Berta peacefully walked out of her home in Lawton, Havana & called for the release of political prisoners and the end of repression. Immediately a group of state security police rushed to arrest her in retaliation for exercising fundamental human rights.

Rosa María Payá, president of the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy and founder of the Cubadecide citizen initiative appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 21. 2022 to brief committee members about the situation of political prisoners, repression of civil society and the policy of systematic human rights situation in Cuba.

Tortures in Cuba. The human rights and legal based NGO documented these forms of torture used against political prisoners in Cuban jails.

From left to right:

1- Handcuffing: consists of handcuffing the inmate by one arm & the other handcuffing the inmate from a high place, so that the limb is suspended and in a position where the person cannot sit down

2-The Chair: A barbershop chair where jailers sit inmates handcuffed by the arms. Then they turn the chair around and beat them with marabou sticks.

3-The Fixation or the Horse: Torture by hanging.

SOURCE: Cubalex

A report is based on testimonies of 101 Cuban political prisoners who denounce having been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in a systematic and widespread manner. It will be presented to the Committee Against Torture by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 73rd session of the United Nations Committee Against Torture to be held from April 19 to May 13, 2022. The report shows that 100% of political prisoners in Cuba suffer some form of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

SOURCE: Prisoners Defenders

Carlos Michael Morales, is a Cuban political prisoner and a Cubadecide promoter, unjustly sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison, assaulted in Manacas prison Villa Clara.

Prison guards beat him & Morales’ cellmates intervened to stop the violent assault.

FREE Morales & all Cuban political prisoners.

SOURCE: Panamerican Foundation for Democracy

In protest to the inhuman/degrading treatment in prison & in view of their arbitrary sentences three brave #Cuban political prisoners: Cristina Garrido, Lisandra Gongora and Angelica Garrido declare themselves on hunger strike-refuse to wear prison uniform. Even though they ended their hunger strike their call serves to bring world attention to the brutality to which political prisoners in Cuba are subjected. The three women have been the target of violations to due process and numerous forms of inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment in prison.

SOURCE: Cubanet

#Cuba Mayelín Rodríguez is jailed in for exercising #humanrights. She filmed the protests in #Nuevitas, #Camagüey & exposed police beating children. On Aug 22, 2022 she was violently arrested. RAISE A VOICE for her release/ALL political prisoners.

Poster: CUBALEX.

As part of a crackdown on protesters in Nuevitas, Camaguey Jimmy Johnson Agosto was violently arrested by State Security & charged w/ “sabotage,” on September 6. 2022. His case reveals violations of due process Interesting photo showing admiration for our Canadian flag. Interesting photo showing admiration for our #Canadian flag.

SOURCE: Martí Noticias

In Las Tunas, Yerly Luis Velázquez was found guilty of "contempt" & sentenced to 6 months of correctional work w/ internment for sharing a Facebook livestream where a group of people criticized dictator Díaz Canel referring to him by the popular phrase he is known: "Singao."

SOURCE: Diario de Cuba

From Aguica Prison in #Colón #Matanzas, in a letter dated June 7. 2022. pro democracy leader Félix Navarro THANKS #Cubans who attended the #SummitoftheAmericas and the US President Joe Biden for not inviting the representatives of the Castro communist dictatorship to the Summit of the Americas.

SOURCES: NUMBER OF POLITICAL PRISONERS BY COUNTRY:

CUBA

IRAN

RUSSIA

VENEZUELA

NICARAGUA

On World Press Freedom Day (May 3, 2022), we denounce the harassment, violence, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of independent #journalists in #Cuba #Venezuela & #Nicaragua Dictatorships want to muzzle the independent press to leave #humanrights abuses unreported.

#Cuba The joyful and resilient spirit of Sayli Navarro, a greater than life pro democracy leader as portrayed by the talented artist Danilo Maldonado (El Sexto). Sayli is imprisoned and sentenced to 8 years in prison for inquiring about activists missing on #11J

On April 12, 2022 the Association of Mothers and Relatives for Amnesty of Political Prisoners in Cuba (AMFA) through the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba sent a letter signed by 37 of its members in Cuba to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In it, they express their great concern for the situation of thousands of young men and women prosecuted by the Cuban regime for their participation in the protests of July 11, 2021. The association calls for their immediate release.

Letter of AMFA to Amnesty International seeking recognition of 37 Cuban political prisoners from 11J as Prisoners of Conscience.

Fiscal petitions on Maikel Castillo ‘El Osorbo"‘ and Luís Manuel Otero Alcántara.

FABRICATED CHARGES against Maykel Castillo: contempt, 3 years; defamation of state institutions, 1 year; for April 4: assault, 6 years; contempt, 3 years; public disorder, 3 years. Joint petition is for 10 years.

FABRICATED CHARGES against Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara: insult to patriotic symbols, 1 year and six months; for April 4: contempt, 3 years; public disorder, 3 years. Joint petition for 7 years.

DEMOCRATIC SPACES joins the #SOSCuba campaign on social media to raise awareness about the human rights catastrophe in Cuba.

By the end of 1958 Cuba had between 10 to 14 prisons. 63 years later and a battery of repressive laws to be introduced in 2022 such as a new draft bill for Penal Code and other draconian laws, Cuba has 200 jails, a number higher than #Mexico the second largest country in Latin America.

SOURCE Cubalex

On March 3, 2022, José Diaz Silva, President of the Opposition Movement for a New Republic and Vice President of the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba had his already arbitrary sentence of correctional work revoked and sent to prison for almost 2 years. As the document above shows, his imprisonment was politically motivated. See for example the section where it says, The Chief of the Revolutionary National Police Station in Boyeros requested the revoking of Diaz´s sentence for imprisonment as among other fabricated accusations, He was ¨meeting people whose social conduct caused disturbances for the neighbours.¨

Article 143 of the draft bill of the new Cuban Penal Code violates international law. Human rights defenders, independent journalists and civil society in Cuba and around the world have the legal and legitimate right to receive funding from domestic and international sources as stated by the United Nations Human Rights Council in the following communications:

Article 143. Whoever, by himself or on behalf of non-governmental organizations, institutions of international character, associative forms or any natural or juridical person of the country or of a foreign State, supports, promotes, finances, provides, receives or has in his power funds, material or financial resources, for the purpose of defraying activities against the State and its constitutional order, shall be punished with deprivation of liberty for four to ten years.

MODERN DAY SLAVERY OF CUBAN DOCTORS/PROFESSIONALS. Since 2019, human rights organizations such as Prisoner Defenders have raised a voice against modern slavery conditions of thousands of Cuban doctors on official missions abroad. Condition of modern slavery are evidenced by numerous factors. AS the document above shows, Cuban professionals on official missions are prohibited from entering Cuba for 8 years if they leave the missions. Their passports, academic accreditation is confiscated by the regime when they are outside Cuba. They are paid only 20% of what many governments around the world pay them, the Cuban regime keep the other 80%. Outside Cuba, doctors, atlhletes are prohibited from entering relations with people that support democratic ideas for Cuba, get married or have relationships outside their missions.

Sayli Navarro, 35 years old, lives alone with her sick mother in Cuba because her father, Felix Navarro, an opposition leader, is a political prisoner. Sayli is a Dama de Blanco, a member of the Party for Democracy and founder of the citizens' initiative Cuba Decide. The Complaint Center of the Pan American Democracy Foundation reported that on Jan 24, 2022 the dictatorship’s authorities began the trial against Sayli Navarro to sentence her to 11 years in prison because on July 12, 2021, she and her father went to the police station to ask about the young people who had disappeared since the protests of the previous day. Felix, who was arbitrarily arrested at the time, is now on trial with his daughter and faces fabricated charges of 15 years in prison.

PHOTO above of Sayli Navarro arbitrarily/violently arrested in 2013 in Matanzas when the and other courageous Ladies in Whites took to the street amidst a State Security police siege that had lasted for 75 consecutive Sundays. One of the State Security police in the photo threatened to beat Sayli when the was taken to the police car.

Political imprisonment is inmoral and constitute a gross human rights violation.

THE CASE OF JOSÉ DANIEL FERRER GARCÍA

José Daniel Ferrer García is a leading figure in the movement for democracy and human rights in Cuba. He has been declared two times a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International (2003 and August. 2021). Since 1992 he has been persecuted by State Security (political police) for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of opinion and expression. Ferrer is the founder and National Coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba(UNPACU), a Cubadecide promoter and the President of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba.

Following his arrest in 2003 during the crackdown on dissidents known as the Black Spring, he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He served 8 of a 25-year sentence for his role as a Varela Project leader in the eastern provinces, collecting signatures to hold a referendum demanding changes to the constitution such as freedom of speech and freedom of association.  

In retaliation for his role as the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba—a movement he founded in 2011 and which in less than a decade has carried out the largest number of public demonstrations in the island —Ferrer was arrested and imprisoned once again from October 1, 2019, until April 3, 2020.

During more than six months of imprisonment in the Aguadores prison in Santiago de Cuba, Ferrer was subjected to physical and psychological torture. “I was harassed all the time and subjected to sleep deprivation. I was prohibited from reading and writing. My cell was small, stinky, and filled with insects and mosquitoes. Time there passed excruciatingly slowly.” Under extreme isolation, “a minute seems like an hour. An hour feels like a day. A day turns into a month,¨ he said in April 5, 2021 in a phone conversation with Michael Lima Cuadra. 

 At the trial that took place on February 26, 2020, Ferrer and the other three UNPACU activists were convicted of “injuries” and “privation of liberty.”  Their conviction and subsequent sentencing - in a nation where the judiciary lacks independence and is subordinated to the interests of the ruling Communist Party - has been called “shameful” by Erika Guevara-Rosas, America’s director at Amnesty International. Cuban authorities prevented Amnesty International, the European Union, and the foreign press from attending the trial. Based on eyewitness accounts from relatives who attended, the trial was plagued with gross irregularities. It has been reported that witnesses for the defense were harassed by state security agents. Crucial recorded testimony from the accuser’s wife denouncing how State Security pressured her husband (the accuser) to give false testimony against José Daniel Ferrer - was deliberately excluded by the judge.  

In a phone conversation with José Daniel Ferrer on April 5, 2020, he pointed out that the trial was a farce and took great pride in speaking truth to power: “Even though the regime prohibited me to speak during the trial and rang a bell to shut me up every time I spoke, I stood up to them, challenged their orders and answered back at different moments. I told them I was the one making the accusations and conveyed to them that in Cuba there are no independent courts and they [the regime] were violating their own constitution. Talking back to my jailers during the trial is something I take tremendous pride in as I was unable to do so during the 2003 trial.”  Thanks to an international campaign in solidarity with José Daniel Ferrer and the other political prisoners, they were released from the Aguadores prison in Santiago de Cuba on April 3, 2020 and placed under house arrest. 

Despite constant police surveillance, harassment, arbitrary detentions, beatings, persecution, acts of repudiation and other repressive acts against him and members of his organization, over the past year José Daniel Ferrer has continued to actively participate in the coordination of numerous peaceful resistance initiatives for democracy in Cuba. One of the fundamental tasks of his organization has been to provide free meals, medications and medical care to the vulnerable population of Santiago de Cuba. For the past year, State Security has almost permanently surrounded his house (which is also the organization's headquarters) to prevent UNPACU from carrying out this social work. Despite the extreme levels of surveillance and repression, the organization has bravely managed to stand up to police surveillance and carry out its social mission of helping the most vulnerable sectors of Santiago de Cuba. One method of resistance to the extreme levels of police surveillance has been the hunger strike. José Daniel and members of his organization went on hunger strike for 26 days, from March 20 until April 10, 2021, with serious repercussions for his health and well-being. 

After leaving his home on July 11, 2021, to join the pro-democracy protests, José Daniel Ferrer was arbitrarily arrested and subsequently he was wrongfully imprisoned in the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba. On that day he went out with his son, José Daniel Ferrer Cantillo. His son was released on July 18.     

PRISON CONDITIONS OF JOSÉ DANIEL FERRER GARCÍA AS DESCRIBED IN A LETTER SUBMITTED IN DECEMBER, 2021 TO THE ATTENTION OF MR. ERDOGAN ISCAN, RAPPORTEUR OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE.

THE CONTENT BELOW DESCRIBE PRISON CONDITIONS AS OF DECEMBER 4 2021. LETTER SUBMITTED BY JORGE LUIS VALDES VILLAZÁN, UNPACU REPRESENTATIVE IN SWEDEN.

From July 11, 2021 to date, Ferrer has been confined in the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba, subjected to inhuman and cruel treatment by agents of the political police. José Daniel Ferrer's life is in danger, he is being murdered gradually and continuously. He remains in an isolation cell, totally walled up and with lack of ventilation, a total confinement during the first 3 months almost impossible to breathe and to which later a small window was opened after a hunger strike for 4 days demanding a humane and fair treatment. Due to the strike, the repressive agents opened a window in the wall, instead of moving him to the empty cells next door. This action by the agents of breaking and opening a window in the wall in the same cell, without being transferred to an unoccupied cell, is evidence of their actions. The cell was prepared to apply mechanisms of torture and annihilation with the sounds that are perceived.

Ferrer remains confined in a cell with four white walls and a light bulb on 24 hours a day. His confinement in these conditions makes him lose track of time. His body is invaded by bites from the abundance of mosquitoes, unable to protect himself from these aggressive insects, which have the capacity to transmit serious diseases, such as dengue or yellow fever, which still exist in the country. Dengue is a frequent disease in tropical areas transmitted by mosquitoes and diseases not found in Cuba, including Zika, which has not been totally eliminated, both produce serious consequences in human beings, even death in some cases if they are not properly treated.

Ferrer presents strong and irresistible encephalic pains, product of deafening sounds, similar to continuous resonances of a hive of crickets, causing an enormous discomfort in his head. These sounds have been clearly recorded in the few and short telephone calls with the family, after 89 days of kidnapping and total isolation in which he was heard from and allowed the first call. The headaches began to be treated with a psychopharmaceutical named Alprazolam, without letting him know that it was a potent psychopharmaceutical, inappropriate for an ailment that can be simply treated with paracetamol. Alprazolam given for a certain period of time can cause paranoid and suicidal ideations. The application of such a drug is a clear violation of the treatment he should receive and shows the cruel intentions of the regime.

Ferrer has continuous mouth bleeding as a result of his chronic gastritis and duodenal ulcer that are not treated in prison and his condition is aggravated by the poor quality of the food he is given to eat, usually in a putrefied state and contaminated water. To this is added the lack of medical attention and appropriate medication. The medical personnel are accomplices of the agents in the prisons. The food and medication that the family tries to get to her is barely delivered or they totally prevent it from being delivered as additional punishments. In the recent visit by Nelva I. Ortega, the wife, last December 3, he was denied the delivery of vitamin E and acetaminophen and some food. The food for all political prisoners is very bad and the agents limit the deliveries and sometimes pick them up, but do not give them to the inmate.

The visit was attended by the wife with her 17-year-old daughter Fatima and her son J. Daniel Ferrer Cantillo. The young man under 20 years of age was denied a visit to his father as punishment and revenge for his participation in the November 15 demonstration and his political activism. The repressive agents apply all these discriminatory and abusive practices as described above, to all political prisoners and family members throughout the country, harassment and arbitrary violations trampling on the dignity and rights of each prisoner, as attempts to break them and break their will to resist and/or annihilate them.

During the aforementioned visit, Ferrer expressed that he is suffering from paralysis and momentary tremors in his hands, body cooling, loss of vision and a constant and persistent cough. J.D. Ferrer presents a delicate health condition, considering that he has sequels of physical torture from previous confinements, making his health condition more aggravating and fragile in the face of the current treatment.

Ferrer was prevented from being given white clothes, because they demand that he wear them with a "P" for Prisoner, which J.D. Ferrer refuses to do. His status as a political prisoner is not recognized, just as it is not recognized for the several hundred political prisoners in Cuban prisons today. In his case he remains almost naked, exposed to temperature changes and to insects and mosquitoes.

The UNPACU leader remains incommunicado from the rest of the prison population, without seeing a ray of sunlight except on three occasions during a period of more than 4 months that he has been in the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba. He is denied a pencil and paper so he has not been able to request religious assistance which must be done in writing. He has been limited to reading 3 books and has been denied access to the press so that he is not informed of what is happening outside.

Every Friday in front of the prison they gather groups organized by the agents to repudiate him with shouts, drums and communist slogans full of hatred, contempt and threats against the political activists who remain locked up in the prison of Mar Verde, Santiago de Cuba. The officer with the rank of Major Ortiz, chief of internal order, has seriously threatened to beat him if he continues to demand his rights. The evidence of the torture is palpable in the face of his critical state of health, his lack of weight and the color of his pale skin, denoting that J.D. Ferrer is losing his life, he is simply being annihilated. Faced with the alternative of not being able to break his will and integrity, the regime is preparing to annihilate him mentally and physically.