AREQUIPA, Peru – The Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) celebrated the recent release of opponents José Daniel Ferrer García and Félix Navarro Rodríguez while demanding the “immediate” and “unconditional” release of all political prisoners in the Island.
In a statement, the CTDC addressed the release of its president, José Daniel Ferrer Garcíawhom he described as a symbol of resistance, courage and perseverance in the peaceful, firm and determined fight for democracy in Cuba, to which he has dedicated 30 years of his life.
“He should never have been imprisoned. His arrest on July 11, 2021, as well as his imprisonment during the Black Spring between 2003 and 2011, represent unjust and arbitrary acts that violate fundamental human rights,” the statement says.
Likewise, the Council denounced the brutality of the imprisonment of the opponent, highlighting that, for more than three and a half years, he was subjected to extreme isolation, physical and psychological torture, denial of medical care, beatings and the systematic deprivation of family visits.
“We hope and demand that his release implies his immediate and unconditional freedom. He already served his sentence several months ago and, therefore, his stay in prison was already illegal, immoral and arbitrary.”
In relation to Félix Navarro Rodríguez, president of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy, the CTDC commemorated in another statement his release from prisona place that “should never have set foot.”
The organization recalled that the simple fact of investigating the whereabouts of activists from its organization, who disappeared after the protests of July 11, 2021, led to the arbitrary conviction of Navarro Rodríguez, under fabricated charges and the submission to a trial without the basic guarantees of the due process.
At 71 years old, the CTDC highlights, Félix Navarro faced inhumane conditions of prison overcrowding and serious health problems during his confinement.
“He was subjected to medical neglect, suffered the effects of COVID-19 in the first months of his imprisonment and suffered threats, restrictions on family visits and cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. These conditions reflect the brutality of a regime that despises human dignity,” the Council denounces.
Félix Navarro, also a political prisoner of the Black Spring of 2003 and promoter of Cuba Decide, he was arrested along with his daughter and other activists. Saily Navarro, activist and member of the Ladies in White movement, was also the victim of an arbitrary judicial process and unjustly sentenced to eight years in prison.
“We are glad that Félix Navarro and other released Cubans can be reunited with their families. However, we reiterate our urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and the decriminalization of dissent in Cuba,” the statement emphasizes.
The CTDC highlighted that the releases of recent days are nothing more than “an imprisonment without bars”, where restrictions are imposed that threaten those who exercise their right to express themselves to return to prison.
In that sense, the statement asserted that the more than 1,000 political prisoners on the Island are not bargaining chips; They are human beings whose rights must be fully restored.
