English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 October 2021 — Las Tunas joined the initiative for a peaceful demonstration called by the Archipiélago collective for this coming November 20th,[Ed. note: now moved to the 15th] just as Havana, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, Holguín and Pinar del Río did before. Archipiélago reported that a group of citizens signed the … Continue reading “Las Tunas Joins Peaceful November Marches in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, October 20, 2021 — The United Nations issued a statement which concluded that rapper Denis Solís as well as Luis Robles Elizastigui, the so-called “young man with the placard”,were detained arbitrarily. The text, dated October 14th, was published Wednesday by Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD), the organization which denounced both cases before the Arbitrary … Continue reading “The UN Determines the Cases of Denis Solis and Luis Robles are Arbitrary Detentions”
Press release: SOMOS+ Movement, 8 June 2021 A wave of indignation is sweeping through Cuban communities around the world today. Thanks to the cooperation of Prisoners Defenders and the BBC, we have learned of the complicity in Brussels of several Euro-MPs with the dictatorship that enslaves our people. The leaked messages reveal that representatives of … Continue reading “Somos+ Calls a Protest Against the Complicity of #PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) with the Havana Regime / Somos+”
Cubalex, 3 June 2021 — On May 18 Maykel Castillo was arrested while he was at his house having lunch. They took him away without a shirt or shoes, and for 13 days he was in “forced disappearance.” The people close to him who went to ask about him at the police station were denied … Continue reading “Update and Legal Analysis on the Case of Jailed Rapper Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo / Cubalex”
14ymedio, Mexico, 16 July 2021 — The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) urged the Cuban government this Thursday to release information on the whereabouts of 187 people who are still missing after the demonstrations that began July 11 across the country, as well as on the identities of the “perpetrators.” The Committee’s request … Continue reading “United Nations Denounces 187 Victims of Enforced Disappearances in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 July 2021 – “The dictatorship has lost much socially and this is what is going to explode in a moment.” This is how resoundingly Martha Beatriz Roque portrayed the situation in the latest monthly report of the Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH), which she directs. The Cuban government has imprisoned up … Continue reading “Human Rights Organizations Report There Were More Than 700 Repressive Actions in Cuba During the month of June”
14ymedio, Havana, July 9, 2021 — The trial of Luis Robles Elizastigui, an activist arrested on December 4, 2020 for staging a protest on Havana Boulevard, will be on July 16 in the Municipal Court of October 10. This was confirmed by his brother, Landy Fernández Elizastigui, in a statement given to Radio and Television … Continue reading “Trial Date Set for Luis Robles, the ‘Guy with the Placard’”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 June 2021 — A total of 13 new political prisoners were registered in Cuba during the month of May. According to the latest report by the Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH), led by the opposition activist Martha Beatriz Roque, it is the highest number since March 2003, which makes this repressive wave “a … Continue reading “‘We’re Facing a New Version of the Black Spring,’ Says Martha Beatriz Roque”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 May 2021 — The organization Archivo Cuba (Cuba Archive) has expressed concern for the mental health of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has been in the Calixto García hospital for 24 days without communication with his friends, and has published a call for action. The NGO accuses the Cuban regime of a long … Continue reading “Cuba Archive Accuses State of Using Therapies and Drugs to Punish Opponents”
14ymedio, Asiel Babastro, Havana, 26 February 2021 — [Note: Asiel Babastro, director of the video clip for the song Patria y Vida [Homeland and Life] presented the following text this Friday at an event of the European Parliament sponsored by Vice President Dita Charanzová and MEP Leopoldo López Gil, the Renew Europe Group and the European People’s Group, and organized by Cuban … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’ Gave Cuba Back a Pulse”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 22 January 2021 — Once Joe Biden assumed the presidency of the United States for the next four years, a space opened to serenely analyze the meaning that it may have for Cuba’s relations with the world’s leading power, since, although it is difficult to recognize it, this link has a … Continue reading “Before a New Thaw, the Strategy is Already a Matter of Debate”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 January 2021 — The Cuban Center for Human Rights (CCDH) is forceful in its December report: the year that has just ended has been “the hardest” for the Island. The reasons, according to the organization led by Marta Beatriz Roque, are not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but to “the scarcity, the … Continue reading “2020 Was the Hardest Year for Cuba, Says Human Rights Group”
14ymedio, Havana, 2 January 2020 — The Lady in White Martha Sánchez González was released this week from the El Guatao Provincial Women’s Prison and is on probation. Starting in 2018, the activist was serving a prison sentence of four years and six months of deprivation of liberty for the crimes of disobedience, contempt and resistance. “I … Continue reading “"They Had Us Packed in Like Sardines," Says the Recently Released Lady in White Martha Sanchez”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 November 2020 — The human rights situation in Cuba has deteriorated since the 2016 signing of the Agreement for Political Dialogue and Cooperation between the European Union and the Island, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) organization. The investigation, carried out among more than one hundred independent activists and … Continue reading “Human Rights in Cuba Have Deteriorated Since Signing of Agreement with Europea Union”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 November2020 — October 10, National Culture Day in Cuba, has been designated as one of the most repressive days of the past month, according to the most recent report issued by the Cuban Center for Human Rights. The independent organization also reports arbitrary arrests, repression against religious figures and acts of corruption, … Continue reading “Cuba’s National Culture Day is Among the Most Repressive Days of October, Report Says”
