Throughout the morning of this Wednesday, the release of the first political prisoners from the 11J has begun, as a result of negotiations with the U.S. and with the mediation of the Vatican.
The authorities of the Guamajal prison, in the province of Villa Clara, announced that the sisters Lisdani and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, political prisoners from the municipality of Placetas, would be released, as reported to CubaNet by their mother, Bárbara Isaac Rojas.
The sisters, aged 26, were serving an eight-year prison sentence.
Lisdani, who has been at home since May of last year on extrapenal leave due to pregnancy complications, and gave birth in September, will have her extrapenal leave extended until her sentence is definitively served.
In the case of her sister Lisdiani, she will be granted parole, according to the aforementioned source.
Another of those released is Rowland Castillo, one of the minors imprisoned in the capital neighborhood of Toyo, in the municipality of Diez de Octubre.
Castillo, who has served 18 years in prison, is already at home.
Reyna Yacnara Barreto Batista, a young political prisoner from the 11J protests in Camagüey, was released this Wednesday, as reported on social media by her mother, Reyna Luiza Batista Silva.
"It was the first trial held in all of Cuba for the participants of the 11J, and now she is the first woman to benefit from the new changes that are coming.", Batista Silva wrote on Facebook alongside a photo with her daughter.
In his case, three months after the protests, Barreto Batista, only 21 years old, was sentenced to four years of correctional work with internment, on charges of public disorder and assault.
The Cuban regime denied her the right to parole on two occasions: first in August 2023, and then in August 2024. The accusation against Barreto Batista was based on her resistance to a uniformed police officer who attempted to subdue her during the protests on July 11th.
Liván Hernández Sosa was also released, as reported on social media by the platform Cántalo TV based on a post by Yalianys Carrazana, the wife of the political prisoner.
Donaida Pérez Paseiro was also released, and in a meeting with her neighbors, she declared that she would continue the fight for the freedom of Cuba.
Update:
Fourteen released so far
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) reported that by 10 a.m. (local Cuban time), 14 political prisoners had been released. They are:
- César Adrián Delgado Correa
- Dariel Cruz García
- Donaida Pérez Paseiro
- Jorge Gabriel Arruebarruena León
- José Miguel Gómez Mondeja
- Katia Beirut Rodríguez
- Liván Hernández Sosa.
- Lisdany Rodríguez Isaac.
- Magdiel Rodríguez García.
- Mailene Noguera Santiesteban.
- Reyna Yacnara Barreto Batista.
- Rogelio Lázaro Domínguez Pérez.
- Yessica Coímbra Noriega.
- Rowland Jesús Castillo Castro.
The OCDH specified that the two measures the Cuban regime is currently employing to release political prisoners are parole and extrapenal leave.
Parole is the right granted to individuals sentenced to imprisonment or correctional labor with detention when: a) they have served at least one-third or half of the imposed sentence and b) they have maintained good behavior while in prison.
The extrapenal license is the release of incarcerated individuals for humanitarian reasons, whether due to illnesses, ailments, or personal circumstances that make their continued imprisonment incompatible, as well as because the inmate's freedom implies a benefit for their life, health, physical/mental integrity, or for the family environment that depends on their presence at home.
In these cases, the law does not require a time frame or specific behavior, as humanitarian treatment takes precedence over judicial obligations. The period of this measure counts as fulfilled time and can be revoked.
Context of the releases from prison
On January 14, shortly after the Biden Administration announced the removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and the suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) announced the imminent release of 553 individuals, convicted of "various offenses" on the island.
The MINREX highlighted that the releases are occurring "in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025" and following negotiations with the Catholic Church, the Vatican, and the mediation of Pope Francis.
According to the official statement, Miguel Díaz-Canel sent a letter to the Supreme Pontiff to inform him of the decision.
The organization Amnesty International (AI) has, for its part, demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners in Cuba.
“Following the announcement by the Cuban government to grant clemency to 553 individuals, we demand the immediate release of all those unjustly imprisoned for exercising their rights in Cuba, particularly those who are prisoners of conscience,” the organization stated in a statement.
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