Cuba releases dissident leader José Daniel Ferrer García

Ortega received a call from Mar Verde prisonin Santiago de Cuba, on Wednesday night to notify him that he had to appear at the prison this Thursday. Once there, they told him the news of the release.

The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) was imprisoned in Santiago de Cuba on July 11, 2021 (11J) in the context of the massive anti-government protests. Months later, a four-year sentence that he was serving in house arrest was revoked, the authorities ordered him to end it behind bars. However, State Security has threatened to extend his sentence.

slow murder

At 54 years of age, Ferrer García meets his second political prison. He was among the group of 75 prisoners of the so-called Black Spring of Cuba, when human rights activists and independent journalists were detained, subsequently sentenced to up to 27 years in prison. The dissident leader would serve 8 years of a 25-year sentence; he was released under “extra-penal license” after mediation by the Catholic Church and the Government of Spain.

In November of last year, it emerged that Ferrer had been brutally beaten in prison by guards and transferred to a hospital. On a previous occasion, his jailers also beat him in front of his son, who was barely 5 years old.

In the last three and a half years it has received sonic attacks and unknown chemical poisoninghas been exposed to high temperatures and disorientation in cells without windows or ventilation, illuminated 24 hours a day by powerful artificial light that, in addition to affecting his vision, makes it difficult for him to fall asleep, according to the NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD). . Likewise, he has received food in a state of decomposition and has been forced to dress in underwear.

For these reasons, PD has warned that Ferrer was being murdered gradually and slowly: “His life and physical, psychological and cognitive integrity are in serious danger.”

Gradual releases

Without specifying that they would be political prisoners, this Tuesday the Cuban regime announced the release of 553 prisoners “punished for various crimes.” The official statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that the release occurs “as part of the close and fluid relations with the Vatican State” and in line with a “practice that is common in our justice system and that has characterized the humanitarian trajectory.” of the Revolution.

Less than 24 hours later, the releases began; Political prisoners have been released but not under amnesty or pardon but through “conditional release”, “early release” or “extra-penal license.” This means that threats of prison against them persist.

So far, around 31 prisoners have been released, according to the Cuban Human Rights Observatory; They are all protesters from July 11 and 12, 2021 (11J) and, for the most part, they were close to expiring their sentences. The authorities said that the process would be done gradually. Although many families are waiting to benefit, the figure does not represent even half of the total number of prisoners for political reasons on the Island (1,161, according to Prisoners Defenders).

The releases occur after a negotiation with the Joe Biden administration in which the Vatican mediated. This Tuesday, shortly before announcing the releases, the Biden Government reported the suspension of Title III of the Cuban Freedom and Democratic Solidarity Act (Helms-Burton Act) and removed Cuba from the list of States sponsoring terrorism. A senior official also reported that the Biden Administration’s decision would have occurred after a promise from the Havana regime to the Catholic Church to release political prisoners.