The dissident José Daniel Ferrer, declared “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, was released Thursday in Cuba, as part of the agreement negotiated with the Catholic Church after the island’s removal from the American blacklist of countries supporting terrorism.
“We just arrived with him. Thank God he is home”in the province of Santiago de Cuba (east), some 900 km from Havana, Nelva Ortega, the wife of the 54-year-old dissident who had been in detention for more than three years, told AFP by telephone. years.
Shortly after, José Daniel Ferrer called on the Cubans not to have “fear of facing” the communist government which “more and more afraid” and is “increasingly weak”during first statements made to the anti-Castro radio station Marti Noticias, based in Miami.
José Daniel Ferrer had been declared “prisoner of conscience” by the human rights organization Amnesty International in August 2021.
He was imprisoned on July 11, 2021, when he tried to join the anti-government protests that shook the country, the largest since the advent of the Castro revolution in 1959.
A month later, a court revoked his parole and sent him back to prison to finish serving a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence he was sentenced to in 2020, accused of hitting a man, which he denies.
Cuban dissident José Ferrer during a press conference, May 12, 20216 in Havana / YAMIL LAGE / AFP/Archives
A long-time dissident, José Ferrer was one of the 75 political prisoners arrested in 2003 during the “Black Spring”a wave of repression against dissent led by Fidel Castro.
He was then sentenced to 25 years in prison and released eight years later, after a negotiation between the government and the Catholic Church. He had refused to leave the island in exchange for his release.
“New beginning”
The release of prisoners continued on Thursday in Cuba, after the release the day before of around twenty imprisoned demonstrators, following the removal of the island from the American blacklist of countries supporting terrorism.
Cuban Frank Daniel Roy Sotolongo (l) reunites with his loved ones after his release, January 16, 2025 in Havana / YAMIL LAGE / AFP
Four detainees, all convicted for their participation in the demonstrations of July 11 and 12, 2021, left a prison located in San Miguel del Padron, on the outskirts of Havana, early in the morning, AFP journalists noted.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity, once again, in life. It’s a new beginning”declared, moved, the young Marlon Brando Diaz, sentenced to 18 years in prison for his participation in the demonstrations, while his family waited for him in front of the penitentiary center.
Also awaited by their families, three other prisoners, held in the same prison, were released, noted AFP.
At midday, the NGO Cubalex, based in Miami, had counted 34 people released since Wednesday.
The Cuban government on Tuesday pledged to release 553 prisoners in a deal brokered with help from the Catholic Church, after outgoing US President Joe Biden announced the island’s surprise withdrawal from the blacklist which includes Iran, North Korea and Syria.
However, the government did not specify the date of these releases, nor provided a list of prisoners concerned.
“It does not surprise me that the number of prisoners (released) is falling by the dropper”Michael Bustamante, associate professor at the University of Miami, told AFP.
According to the researcher, Cuba could “using prisoners as pawns on the negotiating table with the Trump administration” pour “save time”while the Republican president must be inaugurated Monday for a second term.
According to official figures, some 500 people were sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for their participation in the July 2021 protests. Some have been released in recent months after serving their sentences.
NGOs and the United States Embassy in Cuba count a total of a thousand “political prisoners” on the island. Havana, for its part, denies the existence of political prisoners and accuses opponents of being “mercenaries” in the pay of Washington.