‘I Long for My Son and All the Political Prisoners To Be Free, but I Also Want Cuba To Be Free’

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 10 July 2023 — If a couple of years ago her efforts were devoted to obtaining food, transportation, or perhaps planning to emigrate, now her greatest concern is the freedom of her relatives convicted for the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J). Prison has not only changed the detained on that … Continue reading “‘I Long for My Son and All the Political Prisoners To Be Free, but I Also Want Cuba To Be Free’”

An NGO Hopes for the ‘Intermediation’ of the Church for the Release of Cuban Political Prisoners

14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2023 — “The situation is critical, a kind of perfect storm between government repression and famine.” The assertion is from the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH), which hopes for “the intermediation of the Cuban Catholic Church” for “the release of political prisoners, the end of repression and changes that the … Continue reading “An NGO Hopes for the ‘Intermediation’ of the Church for the Release of Cuban Political Prisoners”

‘In Cuba, There Is No Good or Bad Opponent: The Opponent Is Whoever Confronts the Regime’

14ymedio, Havana, 29 April 2023 — According to French reporter Francis Matéo, the key to understanding Cuba’s political convulsions is to track the regime’s money: its phantom accounts abroad, the debts it cannot pay, what it charges for sending medical brigades and the budget it allocates to propaganda. The wear and tear of its methods … Continue reading “‘In Cuba, There Is No Good or Bad Opponent: The Opponent Is Whoever Confronts the Regime’”

An Ice Cream Vendor Shot Three Times on July 11, 2021 (11J) Demands Reparations from the Cuban Justice System

14ymedio, Havana, 29 January 2023 — Osiris José Puerto Terry has a bullet lodged in his back, a prominent scar on his abdomen and another on his right foot, almost all the way to his knee cap. A captain of the specialized police force shot him during the protests on July 11, 2021 at the … Continue reading “An Ice Cream Vendor Shot Three Times on July 11, 2021 (11J) Demands Reparations from the Cuban Justice System”

An 11J Protester Who was Imprisoned in Cuba was Arrested by the US Coast Guard

14ymedio, Havana, 12 December 2022 — Adonis Alexander Remon León is the last of the Cuban demonstrators arrested on July 11, 2021 (11J), who managed to reach the United States. According to what his mother, Elizabeth León, told Radio and Televisión Martí, the young man, 28, “is under investigation” on an American Coast Guard ship to … Continue reading “An 11J Protester Who was Imprisoned in Cuba was Arrested by the US Coast Guard”

11J (July 11th) in Cuba: ’14ymedio’ Was Here and Will Stay Here

14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 2022 — That July 11, the 14ymedio reporters were in the streets of Havana and Santiago de Cuba, anonymously, like almost all Cubans who went out that day to demonstrate peacefully. They were unable to immediately transmit the photos and videos they had collected. That same day and for the next three, the state telecommunications monopoly Etecsa cut off … Continue reading “11J (July 11th) in Cuba: ’14ymedio’ Was Here and Will Stay Here”

The United States Restricts Entry to Five Cuban Officials Due to the 11J Protests

EFE (vía 14ymedio), Washington/Havana, 17 June 2022 — The United States Government announced on Thursday that it has taken measures to impose restrictions on the visas of five unidentified Cuban officials due to their links to the trials and imprisonment of demonstrators who took part in the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J) on the … Continue reading “The United States Restricts Entry to Five Cuban Officials Due to the 11J Protests”

Almost 400 Cubans Firmly Condemned for ‘Assault Against the Socialist State’

14ymedio, Havana, 13 June 2022 — The Cuban Prosecutor’s Office stands at 381 people firmly condemned following the demonstrations of 11J (July 11th), which according to the Public Ministry are people who “assaulted the constitutional order and the stability” of the socialist State. In an official statement shared on Monday, after the required period for … Continue reading “Almost 400 Cubans Firmly Condemned for ‘Assault Against the Socialist State’”

Mother of July 11th Protestor in Cuba Explodes During the Appeal: ‘We’re Tired of Holding On’

14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2022 — The patience of María Luisa Fleita Bravo, mother of Rolando Vásquez Fleita, one of the detainees from the Havana neighborhood of La Güinera for the demonstrations of July 12*, was exhausted last Monday. That day, at the appeal trial for her son’s 21-year prison sentence for sedition, the desperate woman … Continue reading “Mother of July 11th Protestor in Cuba Explodes During the Appeal: ‘We’re Tired of Holding On’”

Several Young 11J (July 11th) Protesters Released in Havana

14ymedio, Havana, 28 May 2022 — At least five young people who were tried for the July 11 protests in Havana were released after a appeals trial held this Friday at the Diez de Octubre Municipal Court in Havana. Among those released are Rowland Jesús Castillo and Lázaro Noel Urgellés Fajardo, who had been sentenced … Continue reading “Several Young 11J (July 11th) Protesters Released in Havana”

‘I Feel Destroyed Because My Son Has to Spend Ten Years in Prison’

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 27 May 2022 — Migdalia Gutiérrez Padrón can’t stand it anymore. The nightmare that she has lived through for more than ten months has become very difficult to bear. On May 11, her hopes were pinned on the appeal trial of her son Brusnelvis Cabrera Gutiérrez, sentenced to 15 years for … Continue reading “‘I Feel Destroyed Because My Son Has to Spend Ten Years in Prison’”

Appeals Do Not Reduce Sentences of Those Condemned for the July 11th (11J) Protests in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 13 May 2022 — The record kept by the independent associations Cubalex and Justicia 11J shows that the appeals of those convicted for the July 11th (11J) protests of last year are barely serving to modify the sentences. According to the list, to date 40 people have received a response to the review … Continue reading “Appeals Do Not Reduce Sentences of Those Condemned for the July 11th (11J) Protests in Cuba”

Testimonies About the Torture Practiced in Cuban Prisons are Presented in Mexico

14ymedio, Madrid, 18 May 2022 — On Wednesday, in Mexico City, fifteen civil organizations presented new testimonies proving that torture is practiced in Cuba, in addition to recounting other human rights violations on the island, such as arbitrary arrests and the forced labor of the so-called medical ’missions’ .   The group, made up of Civil … Continue reading “Testimonies About the Torture Practiced in Cuban Prisons are Presented in Mexico”

Cuba: 15 Years in Prison for a Gesture

14ymedio, Maite Rico, Madrid, 25 April 2022 — The People’s Provincial Court of Havana has found that “Brusnelvis Adrián Cabrera Gutiérrez, 21, appeared at the scene of the crowd riding a red moped, with which he joined those present, and made gestures with his hands and movements with his body inciting people who were watching … Continue reading “Cuba: 15 Years in Prison for a Gesture”

Prisoners Defenders Submits to the UN a Report on Minors Prosecuted in Cuba for July 11 (11J)

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)”