The opponent was transferred and hospitalized in Boniato prison after being assaulted by prison staff, says his family
14ymedio, Havana, November 24, 2024 — The opponent and leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) José Daniel Ferrer was seen last Thursday in the hospital of the Boniato prison, in Santiago de Cuba, “very thin, brutally beaten and with a wound on his face,” said the sister of the political prisoner, Ana Belkis Ferrer. The news that the activist had been transferred and returned to the Mar Verde prison, where he was originally locked up, because he needed medical attention, put his relatives on alert, and they stood in front of the prison on Friday to demand proof of life.
According to the opponent’s sister, Ferrer’s transfer to Boniato was reported by “a person who was able to see him on Thursday at the Boniato hospital, a place where very few people were allowed to prevent him from being seen.” This was later confirmed by the prison authorities of Santiago de Cuba. Aside from that news, little else is known about the political prisoner’s condition.
According to the relatives, the complaint of the “beating” and the transfer were also reported by other political prisoners, who claim that the opponent had been attacked by prison staff and transferred to another prison with better medical facilities. The family also said that Ferrer has been admitted to Room A of the Boniato Prison infirmary for three days and that his health was already deteriorated.
Ferrer’s wife, Nelva Ismarays Ortega, stood in front of the Mar Verde prison with two of the activist’s children
After Ferrer’s wife, Nelva Ismarays Ortega, stood in front of the Mar Verde prison with two of the activist’s children – including a five-year-old – several organizations and activists began a campaign to demand that the prison authorities allow family members to see the opponent.
“Early on we demanded to be able to see my husband and the prison authorities denied us that right. Around three in the afternoon they let us, from a distance, see a car with several officers and a person dressed in white getting out. Supposedly, that was my husband. Until we are face to face with him we can’t say for sure,” Ortega said in a video on social networks that was taken in the vicinity of the prison.
“We don’t want photos, we don’t want a video, we don’t want a message, we don’t want to see him at a distance. We want to see him face to face to tell us what happened. We will continue to demand proof of life and freedom for Ferrer and all political prisoners,” she added.
Ortega also said that the leader of the Unpacu has been imprisoned since August 2021, and in the last year and nine months, the prison has prevented any kind of contact between him and his family, denying them family visits, conjugal visits and phone calls. “They are violating these rights,” denounced Ortega, who considers that, in these circumstances, her husband “is missing.”
“We want to corroborate whether what happened to Ferrer and his transfer to Boniato is true or not,” Ortega added
“We want to corroborate whether what happened to Ferrer and his transfer to Boniato is true or not,” Ortega added. “If nothing has happened, why don’t they tell us? We have the right to be told where he is and in what condition. The only person who can tell us is my husband, José Daniel Ferrer García.”
Several organizations and NGOs have shown solidarity with Ferrer’s family and have joined the demand for proof of life. Even the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, said he was “outraged” at the news that José Daniel Ferrer is hospitalized after having received a “brutal beating.”
“We call on the Government of Cuba to allow immediate access for his family and to release him, along with the nearly 1,000 political prisoners unjustly detained in Cuba,” Nichols posted on his X account.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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