Wilfredo Vallín Almeida was a renowned independent lawyer and founder of the Cuban Legal Association (Ajudicuba).
LIMA, Peru – Wilfredo Vallín Almeida, independent lawyer and founder of the Cuban Legal Association (Ajudicuba), died early this Saturday in Havana at the age of 77.
Vallín Almeida was a lawyer for opponents on the Island, an advisor to family members of political prisoners and civil rights defender. His work also focused on educating Cubans about legal education, a topic that he considered “fundamental” to confront the Castro regime.
“Our brother Wilfredo Vallín Almeida has just died. Scholar and patriot. Director of the Cuban Legal Association, of great work in the Cuban legal field,” lamented independent journalist Julio Aleaga.
The prominent jurist graduated from law in 1992 and worked as a government lawyer for three years until he began to provide legal and political advisory services independently.
Vallín Almeida was married for several decades to law graduate Esperanza Rodríguez Bernal, 54 years old and Executive Secretary of the Cuban Legal Association (AJC).
During his professional career, he visited countries such as Spain, Sweden, Costa Rica and Peru to learn more about international rights and explain the lack of the rule of law in Cuba.
On October 1, 2008, Vallín Almeida founded Ajudicuba, and in the organization’s presentation letter he proposed several objectives to be met, including helping the legal education of Cuban society; attention to specific cases; as well as the promulgation of the UN Human Rights Pacts, the Civil and Political Pacts and the Economic and Social Rights Pact that Cuba had signed.
“We have been able to help many people. We have even gotten people out of jail. We have given conferences so that the population knows more about their rights,” said Wilfredo. to Cubanet during an interview in 2014.
Over the last decade his efforts have been tireless. Vallín Almeida was a pioneer in the use of technologies or social networks as a means of legal education and denunciations against the excesses of the regime in Cuba.
“We declare ourselves faithful defenders of Human Rights and the people of Cuba,” Wilfredo highlighted about his work in front of Ajudicuba.
