English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Madrid, 16 May 2022 — The 27-year-old Cuban Yariel Alfonso Puerta, who threw himself into the sea on Friday to avoid trial for his participation in the July 11 demonstrations in Matanzas, is in the custody of the Coast Guard, in Florida waters, along with his friend with whom he left the Island, Alioski … Continue reading “Cuban Rafter Who Fled From Prison Sentence for July 11th Protests Rescued by US”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 16 May 2022 — On Monday, the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, accused the United States Embassy in Havana of “reviving what happened” in the anti-government protests of last July 11. During his speech at the closing of the extraordinary sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), in which … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Accuses the US of Trying to ‘Rekindle’ the July 11th Protests”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2022 — Four July 11th (11J) demonstrators in Santiago de Cuba have been sentenced to between nine and five years in prison, while a fifth, who was part of the same file, was released with a fine of 3,000 pesos. The trial was held five months ago and some of the defendants … Continue reading “Up to Nine Years in Prison for July 11th (11J) Protestors in Santiago de Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2022 — Raucel Ocaña Parada, former prosecutor of Palma Soriano, in Santiago de Cuba, left the island and has requested political asylum in Switzerland, according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH). The jurist has denounced in an interview that the sentences against the protesters of July 11th (11J) are developed … Continue reading “Former Cuban Prosecutor, Seeking Asylum in Switzerland, Insists that the Cuban Communist Party Imposes the Sentences for July 11th (11J) Protests”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 6 May 2022 — Before the pandemic, Marbelis Vázquez and Daniel Joel Cárdenas managed La Guarapera Velázquez, a private business with which they dreamed of making the money necessary to emigrate. But instead of starting a new life in another country, the husband is now in prison for the July 11th (11J) … Continue reading “‘My Children Believe That Their Father is in a School Not in Prison’ for Cuba’s July 11th (11J) Protests”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 May 2022 — Yoan de la Cruz was released this Friday after almost 10 months in prison, family sources and friends confirmed to 14ymedio. After the appeal, the young man’s sentence of 6 years in prison was changed to 5 years in prison without internment. The young man, who on July 11 made the live broadcast of … Continue reading “Yoan de la Cruz, the Young Man Who Broadcast the July 11th (11J) Protests in San Antonio de los Banos, Released From Prison”
14ymedio, Havana, May 3, 2022 — R turning to Cuba from Europe — where she denounced the situation of her son who was sentenced to prison after July 11th (11J) –has not been easy for Ailex Marcano, mother of Ángel Jesús Véliz Marcano. Authorities subjected her to an interrogation for three hours and confiscated 3,000 … Continue reading “A Three-Hour Interrogation for Cuban Mother who Denounced the July 11th Trials at the UN”
14ymedio, Madrid, 2 May 2022 — His name is Elías Rizo León and he is 16 years old. The boy who became the symbol of the July 11 protests in Cuba by climbing with a flag onto an overturned police car on the corner of Toyo, in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre, has made … Continue reading “Young Man With the Cuban Flag on Top of the Police Car on July 11th (11J) Shows up in Madrid”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 1 May 2022– Judges did not forgive Samuel Pupo Martínez for starring in one of the most iconic images of the protests on July 11 (11J). Climbing on top of an overturned vehicle, this then 46-year-old man shouted “Down with communism! Patria y Vida!” a few meters from the municipal headquarters … Continue reading “Cuba: ‘My Son Has Never Smiled Again’ Since His Father Was Arrested on July 11th (11J) in Cárdenas”
14ymedio, Madrid, 18 April 2022 — Prisoners Defenders (PD) stated that in Cuba, there are children even as young as 13 and 15 years old in jail for having participated in the peaceful demonstrations last July 11th (11J). The cases of these 13 minors, which have received less visibility, are included in the NGO’s report … Continue reading “Prisoners Defenders Submits to the UN a Report on Minors Prosecuted in Cuba for July 11 (11J)”
14ymedio, Havana, April 12, 2022–The University Council of the Universidad de las Artes (ISA) has branded an open letter shared by a group called #FreeAbelLescay as “campaigns that intend to discredit the Revolution.” The group seeks to revoke the sentence of musician Abel González Lescay, a musical composition student at ISA who was sentenced to … Continue reading “Musician Sentenced to Six Years for July 11th (11J) Brands ISA Officials as ‘Ass Kissers’”
14ymedio, Havana, April 9, 2022–Lázara Karenia González, arrested for participating in the peaceful protests on July 11th (11J) in Cárdenas, Matanzas, was released on Friday after receiving her sentence of three years of “correctional labor without internment.” Thus, she will be able to remain outside of prison while serving her term of labor. During the … Continue reading “A Young Cuban Woman Spent Nine Months in Jail for Yelling on July 11th and No One Apologizes for her Abusive Arrest”
EFE (via 14ymedio), London, 29 March 2022 — Cuba intensified “its machinery to control freedom of expression and assembly” during 2021, a year marked by the July 11th (11J) anti-government protests, Amnesty International (AI) denounced in its annual report on human rights. The London-based organization emphasized what it called “repression” during and after the demonstrations. … Continue reading “Cuba Strengthened its ‘Machinery to Control Freedom’ After the July 11th Protests, According to Amnesty International”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2022 — Five protesters from the same family have been sentenced to prison for the protests in El Caney, Santiago de Cuba, on July 11. Along with them, there are three others convicted in the same case, with sentences of between 5 and 12 years in prison. Only one is released … Continue reading “Five Members of the Same Family in Prison for July 11th Protests in Santiago de Cuba”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 26 March 2022 — On Friday, the organization Amnesty International (AI) asked to enter Cuba to follow the trials against the demonstrators accused of the anti-government protests of last July 11. In a statement, AI reported that it has also asked the Cuban government to let in other human rights observers … Continue reading “Amnesty International Asks to Enter Cuba to Follow the Trials of July 11th Protesters”
