Relatives of the political prisoner Yosvany Rosell García Caso, along with opposition activists, artists and other Cubans from inside and outside the island, asked the Pope Leo XIV to intercede with the authorities to save his life.
García Caso, 37 years old, who is sentenced to 15 years for participating in the protests of July 11, 2021, began the strike on October 23 in the Holguín prison, where he was being held and, as his health condition worsened, he was transferred to the Lucía Íñiguez Clinical Surgical Hospital.
According to statements from his family, published on unofficial networks and media, García Caso accepted yesterday, after 40 days of strike, that he be administered a hydration serum, after the Doctors warned of its severity and “extreme weakness.”
Given the serious risk to García Caso’s life, nearly 200 Cubans wrote a letter to Leo XIV, which was delivered to both the Vatican and the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Havana, according to what was shared by some of its signatories.
“We humbly cry out for your spiritual accompaniment and human intercession in the face of the real danger of death that a son of Cuba faces today,” says the letter addressed to the Supreme Pontiff, whose signatories include the prisoner’s own wife and other members of his family, as well as activists opposed to the Cuban Government, writers, filmmakers, academics and independent journalists.
The letter
According to the letter, García Caso – who is the father of three children – has carried out several hunger strikes during his imprisonment, which has now lasted more than four years. This has severely deteriorated his health and aggravates his situation in this new strike.
“His physical fragility places him at extreme risk of dying or suffering irreversible consequences, even if he survived,” point out the signatories, who maintain that the young man is innocent and these strikes are not “fruit of recklessness, but of heartbreak” and also a “desperate appeal for dignity in the face of injustice.”
In these circumstances, they ask the Pope “pastoral accompaniment” to the detainee and also, “if possible, that the Holy See can exercise a mediation role between his case and the Cuban government.”
“As the Catholic Church proclaims, human life is sacred, the right to life must be protected by every nation and the dignity of the person is the basis of a moral vision of society,” say the applicants, including the filmmakers. Fernando Perez and Ernesto Daranasthe psychologist Carolina de la Torrethe plastic artist Tania Bruguera and the writers Marcial Gala and Ghabriel Pérez.
In addition, they ask Leo
Another repercussions and official silence
As the days on strike have increased and, with them, the deterioration of García Caso’s health, his situation has also become more visible through the complaints of his family and opposition activists, who have been demanding that the Government release the detainee and save his life.
Publications supporting the young man and requests for his health have grown on the networks, as well as summonses to the authorities about his case; Meanwhile, demonstrations have been held outside Cuba in support of their cause.
At the same time, entities such as Amnesty International have shown their “extreme concern” for the health of Yosvany, who is considered a political prisoner – like the rest convicted as a result of 11J – by opponents of the Government, despite the fact that the Cuban authorities do not recognize the existence of detainees due to their political and ideological positions on the island.
For its part, the Embassy of USA. in Havana showed days ago his “serious concern” and demanded the release of the prisoner and “adequate medical care” for him.
Meanwhile, the Government has remained silent about the hunger strike and García Caso’s precarious health condition.
To date, no government statement has been made public about his situation. Nor have the official Cuban media refuted what was published on the networks or in other media, nor have they given a different version of this case, which until now maintains the veil of silence and uncertainty.
