English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 3 September 2021 — The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, joined the fast of other dissidents on Thursday in support of the opponents José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro, both former prisoners of the Black Spring of 2003, who were arrested on July 11, the day of the … Continue reading “Cuba’s Ladies in White Show Solidarity With the 11J (July 11th) Detainees”
Cubalex, 20 May 2021 — Cubalex monitored acts of harassment against civil society from May 10 to 16, 2021, as well as related news associated with government measures taken during the pandemic, and instances of shortages of products and basic goods. This report also analyzes the selective internet outages that activists and dissidents have suffered, and highlights accounts from … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Will Not Put Up With Dissent (Even From Abroad) / Cubalex”
14ymedio, Havana, Luz Escobar, 31 August 2021 — It’s not so long since the reggaetoner Roberto Hidalgo Puentes, known as Yomil, distanced himself from politics and asked that artists be left alone, but it’s been an eternity. The death of his colleague in the duet, El Dany, changed everything forever and now he not only … Continue reading ““My People Will Never Allow any Kind of Injustice to be Done to Me””
14ymedio, Havana, August 29, 2021 — This Sunday morning, the psychiatrist and founder of the World Network of Suicidiologists, Sergio Pérez, died of covid-19. His death was reported by Dr. Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre, who was expelled from the polyclinic of Bayamo for being “counterrevolutionary.” “The medical sciences in Cuba and in the world have … Continue reading “Sergio Perez, Psychiatrist Who Harshly Criticized the Cuban Regime, Has Died”
Cubalex, 27 May 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), ARTICLE 19 Office for Central America and the Caribbean, and CUBALEX today demand the release of Mary Karla Ares Pérez, detained since April 30 in relation to her journalistic work. Ares is being held in the Western Women’s Prison in … Continue reading “International Human Rights Organizations Demand Release of Detained Journalist / Cublaex”
Cubalex, 2 June 2021 — Cubalex monitored the acts of harassment against civil society from May 24 to 31, 2021, as well as background news associated with the government measures applied during the pandemic, and events of shortages of products and basic goods. This report also breaks down the selective internet outages that activists and … Continue reading “Activists Transferred to Prison and Others Besieged: Report of a Week in Cuba / Cubalex”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 August 2021 — Cuban reggaetoner Roberto Hidalgo Puentes, known as Yomil, launched De Cuba soy* this Thursday, a song that he described as “the most important of my career” and which he dedicates to the July 11 protests and to claiming his roots. The video was launched at 5 pm on the YouTube platform and … Continue reading “‘Let the Abuse of Power End’ Demands Cuban Artist Yomil with His New Video Clip”
UPDATE July 20, 2021 — In follow-up to the communique that ARTICLE 19 and CUBALEX published on July 16, which stated that as of that date the following people had been detained: Henry Constantin, director of La Hora de Cuba, along with his colleagues Iris Mariño, and Niefe Rigau; Orelvys Cabrera, from Cubanet News; Pedro … Continue reading “ARTICLE 19 and CUBALEX Demand the Immediate Freedom of Journalists Detained During the Protests in Cuba”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Desde Aqui, Havana, 18 August 2021 — As I do not have the patience needed to analyze paragraph by paragraph, article by article, the ways in which Decree-Law 35 violates the rights of freedom of expression, I opt for the following challenge. I formally challenge President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, … Continue reading “Challenge to Cuba’s Decree-Law 35”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 August 2021 — A letter signed by Cuban activists, journalists, intellectuals, and artists asks the Government of the Island for information on more than 800 people who were detained, and others who remain missing, after the protests of July 11. The signatories also demand justice and transparency in the legal processes that have … Continue reading “Cuba Activists Demand ‘Justice’ for the 11 July Detainees and ‘Transparency’ in Their Criminal Proceedings”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 4 August 2021 — “If you have nothing to hide, come join us, let’s talk”. With the arrogance that characterizes the political police in Cuba, several agents showed up at Sadiel González’s house to take him away this Monday. He’s not the only one. Since July 11th, social networks have been … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Continues to Harass Activists After the July 11 Protests”
14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, July 31, 2021 — The singer, composer and music producer Pavel Urkiza was born in Kiev (Ukraine), but right away, when he was three months old, he was taken to Havana where he grew up. His parents, both engineers, were part of the first Cuban student brigade in the Soviet Union. … Continue reading “The Change in Cuba Has No Turning Back”
14ymedio, Havana, 20July 2021 — “They are young, they are not criminals or bandits who went to throw stones or loot stores, they went to fight for the things they lack, that they are drowning.” Berta Baruch, 58, is one of the mothers who gathered on Monday in front of the 100th y Aldabó prison, in Havana, … Continue reading “The Anguish of the Relatives of the Young People Arrested in Cuba on July 11”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 July 2021 — Photographer Anyelo, who took the images for the video clip Patria y Vida (CURSIVA), was sentenced on Wednesday to one year in prison on charges of “public disorder” for his participation in the July 11 demonstrations. Simultaneously, artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), … Continue reading “Cuban Photographer Anyelo Troya Sentenced to One Year in Prison for ‘Public Disorder’”
14ymedio, Havana, July 19, 2021 — Eight days after the start of protests, there is still no official count of those arrested during the demonstrations that took place in more than forty Cuban cities. Several human rights organizations suggest it could be in the thousands while the United Nations puts the number at 187. Among … Continue reading “Hundreds Arrested in Cuban Protests Are Being Subjected to Summary Trials”
