Miami, United States. -Cuban American congressman Mario Díaz-Balart expressed his concern for the health status of Loreto Hernández García, a Cuban political prisoner imprisoned after the protests of July 11, 2021. In A publication in the social network Xthe Cuban -American politician denounced the physical deterioration of Hernández García and requested his “immediate and unconditional” liberation.
“Loreto has been imprisoned since he participated in the protests of July 11, and his family is alarmed because his health is deteriorating. The brutal regime in Cuba continues to imprison brave feature activists who dare to raise their voice against them. I demand its immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all political prisoners in Cuba. The Cuban regime has to account for its crimes, ”Díaz-Balart wrote.
Hernández García, Yoruba Leader and Prodemocracy activist, has remained in prison since 2021. In a trial that Amnesty International described as “unfair and lacking evidence”, was sentenced to seven years in jail for the crimes of “contempt” and “public disorder ” The NGO has also denounced that its imprisonment responds to political reasons and its public opposition to the Cuban regime.
The health status of Hernández García has been the reason for alarm since 2023, when he was hospitalized for several weeks. Despite the recommendation of a doctor of granting an extrapenal license for health reasons, the court denied this request, keeping it in penitentiary conditions that, according to their relatives and human rights organizations, put their lives at risk.
Díaz-Balart’s publication adds to the numerous calls of legislators and activists in favor of the liberation of Hernández García and his wife, Donaida Pérez Pasiro, also imprisoned since the demonstrations of July 11, 2021. In July 2024, Senator Rick Scott used the same social network To demand the liberation of both.
Since the imprisonment of Hernández García, multiple complaints have indicated not only the precarious health conditions of the activist, but also the pressures and harassment towards his wife and religious congregation. Pérez Pasiro has been interrogated and harassed by state security agents, who, according to Amnesty International, seek to abandon their faith.
Donaida Pérez Paseiro, activist, priestess and president of the Yorubas Free Association of Cuba, and Loreto Hernández García, activist, priest and vice president of the same association, remain held in the prison of Guamajal, province of Villa Clara.
