English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 22 February 2021 — What are the signs that predict the end of an authoritarian system? What symptoms does a despotic regime show as its decline approaches? These two questions have obsessed me in recent days, in the midst of unprecedented events that have been happening on this Island for weeks. Are they … Continue reading “In Other Times…”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 December 2020 — The young man who was arrested on December 4 for protesting with a handmade sign on San Rafael Boulevard in Havana has been charged with “acts against state security.” According to Diario de Cuba the charge was filed by First-Lieutenant Roberto Batista, who issued an order for “temporary detention.” … Continue reading “Young Man with Sign Accused of Acts against State Security”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 February 2024 — Luis Robles, the “young man with the placard,” received, on Friday, his first pass since he was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2020 for requesting the release of rapper Denis Solís. His mother, Yindra Elizastigui, published a photograph of Robles, shaved and dressed in civilian clothes, during … Continue reading “The “Young Man with the Placard” Receives His First Pass After More Than Three Years in a Cuban Prison”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 1 January 2024 — Luis Robles, a Cuban protester imprisoned since December 2020, has received a prison permit to serve the rest of his five-year sentence in a correctional labor camp, his mother, Yindra Elizastigui, confirmed to EFE on Sunday. Robles, considered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) as … Continue reading “After Three Years in Prison, the ‘Young Man With the Placard’ Goes to a Work Camp in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 29 November 2023 – Yindra Elizastigui, mother of Luis Robles, “The Boy With the Placard” has decided to abandon the hunger strike she started in demand for the release of her son — a prisoner since December 2020 in the Combinado del Este maximum security prison in Havana — and for the release … Continue reading “Mother of ‘The Boy With the Placard’ is Given Guarantees from Cuban Prisons Director and Suspends Her Hunger Strike”
14ymedio, Havana, August 22, 2023–Luis Robles Elizastigui known as “the young man with the placard” and incarcerated since December 2020 in the Combinado del Este prison in Havana has achieved some relief from his prison conditions and will transfer to a minimum security regimen. As his mother, Yindra Elizastigui, on Monday told CubaNet, the young … Continue reading “‘The Young Man with the Placard’ Will Go to a Lower Security Prison After Almost Three Years of Mistreatment”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 August 2022 — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a resolution in which it considers the situation of Cuban opponent Luis Robles as “at serious risk.” Robles, known as “the young man with the placard,” was arrested in December 2020 for demanding the release of musician Denis Solís, on San … Continue reading “Human Rights Group Reports the ‘Young Man With the Placard’ is at Serious Risk in a Cuban Prison”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 March 2022 — Luis Robles, the “young man with the placard,” still has not received his sentence despite the fact that next Wednesday will mark three months after the end of his trial. The Prosecutor’s Office requested six years in prison for him for the crimes of resistance and enemy propaganda. Imprisoned since he was … Continue reading “‘Cuba’s Greatest Enemy is Not Outside, But Sitting in the Presidential Chair’”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 10 February 2022 — A man preached loudly this Wednesday in Havana’s Central Park. Strolling up and down not only through the square but also on San Rafael Boulevard, with a Bible in his hand and tattoos on his skin, he ranted against the Family Code, which the Cuban government … Continue reading “Havana’s Central Park Preacher is Left Without an Audience”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 December 2021 — Barely a week had passed since the premiere of the song Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life), in February, when these two words began to be used as a slogan by different opponents of the regime, inside and outside of Cuba. Opposed to the Castroist “homeland or death”, the images extolling the blackness of five artists, … Continue reading “‘Patria y Vida’, The Anthem for Cuban Freedom”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 December 2021 — The trial of Luis Robles Elizastigui, the “young man with the placard,” lasted almost two hours this Thursday, taking place in the Municipal Court of Marianao, in Havana, under a strong security operation. “The place is full of police, and not only will Luis’ trial be held, there will … Continue reading “The Trial of the ‘Young Man With the Placard’ Concludes Under a Strong Police Operation in Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 7 May 2021 — While Luis Robles Elizastigui was being arrested last December 4th on San Rafael Boulevard for holding a sign that read “Freedom. No more repression. # Free-Denis [Solís]”, his brother Landy spent a working day like any other in the private workshop where he was employed. Since that … Continue reading ““I Am Not Afraid, I Will Not Stop Asking for My Brother’s Freedom””
