State Security threatens Luis Robles with taking “drastic measures” against him
14ymedio, Madrid, 7 October 2024 — Once again, the officials at the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba, where José Daniel Ferrer is being held, prevented him from having the meeting he was supposed to have on Friday with his wife Nelva Ortega, and his children. For 19 months now, the regime has denied him the required family visit.
“They only accepted the bag of food and hygiene products,” Ana Belkis Ferrer, sister of the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), told Martí Noticias on Sunday. The Cuban American National Foundation joined the activist’s family in denouncing it, “strongly” condemning, in a statement on Monday, “the continued abuses” of the regime against Ferrer, as well as “the more than a thousand Cubans imprisoned for demanding freedom, democracy and justice in Cuba.”
In its statement, the organization recalls the resolution issued by the European Parliament on September 19, which demanded the “immediate” release of the activist and “respect for his rights,” and which the Cuban regime “has blatantly ignored.”
José Daniel Ferrer has been in prison since July 11, 2021, before he could join the massive protests that day, although his history of repression began much earlier. The opposition leader was part of the group of prisoners of the Black Spring, with a death sentence commuted to 25 years in prison and released after eight years thanks to the efforts of the Vatican and the mediation of Spain.
The Cuban American National Foundation denounced in a statement on Monday “the continued abuses” of the regime against Ferrer
During these four years of imprisonment, he has suffered abuse and torture, as reported by international organisations such as Prisoners Defenders. For almost two years, his family has said, he has refused to wear the prison uniform, and the prison authorities have restricted his rights to the maximum.
After being held incommunicado for a year, during which time they could only deliver bags of supplies to the prison, Ferrer’s relatives began a campaign last March to demand a proof of life, which was joined by numerous Cuban politicians and activists from the island and in exile. The strategy, which had its precedent in a similar campaign in June 2023, managed to get Ferrer to see his daughter on March 19.
A month later, after standing in front of the prison, his wife managed to see him for “two miserable minutes.” “When they realized that I would remain stationary and that the only way to get me out was in a patrol car or by letting me see my husband, the same officer told me that they would give me two minutes, after discussing it with the Headquarters and State Security,” Nelva Ortega said at the time.
On September 7, the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dionisio García Ibáñez, and the priest Camilo de la Paz, in charge of the Penitentiary Pastoral of the diocese, visited the opponent.
Ten days later, when she announced the news, Nelva Ortega told Martí Noticias that she was glad that “after so much time,” a “person of God” had been able to visit Ferrer and offer him “encouragement.” His wife did not offer too many details of the visit, but explained that, according to what she was able to learn from the priest, the opposition leader is “stable” mentally and physically. His health, however, worried the archbishop and his companion.
“Specifically, the health part is not good,” Ortega told the media, and clarified that Ferrer told García Ibáñez and De la Paz that he suffered from heartburn, stomach pains and that his arm was “practically immobile.”
Although he did not give further details, he assured that he will continue to shout for his freedom “as long as he has a voice.”
However, he said that Ferrer remains firm: “The harassment, repression and threats have continued, reminding people that he could spend his whole life in prison if he does not decide to leave the country, and he has made it clear that he prefers to die inside rather than leave.”
On Sunday, Yindra Elizastigui, the mother of political prisoner Luis Robles, said that State Security threatened her son, the “young man with the placard,” that “drastic measures” would be taken if she continued to publicly denounce the situation of her son and all political prisoners.
Although he did not give further details, he said he would continue to shout for freedom “as long as he has a voice.”
Robles, who has been in prison since December 2020 when he demonstrated on San Rafael Boulevard in Havana with a banner calling for the release of rapper Denis Solís, was granted a prison permit earlier this year to serve the remainder of his five-year sentence – for enemy propaganda and disobedience – in a correctional labor camp. Solís was ultimately forced into exile in Serbia.
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