The platform Justicia 11J has reported that at least 10 Cuban political prisoners have attempted to take their own lives so far in 2024, including three who died in one of the attempts.
"Since January 1, 2024, the Cuban Prison Documentation Center (CDPC) has recorded three incidents of suicidal ideation, three self-harm incidents, and six suicide attempts involving 10 political prisoners (seven men and three women)," they wrote in a bulletin published two days ago on their website.
Among the cases that managed to take their own lives, they mention that of the political prisoner Yosandri Mulet Almarales, sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for the anti-government protests of July 2021, who died after jumping from an overpass onto a highway.
They also refer to the activist Yasmany González Valdés, sentenced to 4 years in prison for anti-government signs on the walls of Havana, who in February of this year had considered taking his own life after months of abuse in Cuban prisons and due to the rigged judicial process he was experiencing during those months.
They point out similar cases in the political prisoners Mayelín Rodríguez Prado and Yanet Pérez Quevedo, who are incarcerated in the Kilo 5 or Granja 5 prison in Camagüey and also attempted against their lives.
They add the cases of Omar Ortega, imprisoned in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, and Lizandra Góngora, in Los Colonos, Isla de la Juventud. As a recent case, they mention Fray Pascual Claro Valladares, sentenced in April 2024 to 10 years in a legal process without guarantees, for the protests in Nuevitas, Camagüey (2022).
Finally, there is Daiver Leyva Vélez, another sentenced for the protests in Nuevitas, condemned to 10 years for "sedition" and who has attempted suicide on two occasions.
Justicia 11J concludes its bulletin by reiterating the “demand for immediate freedom for hundreds of those sentenced for various protest scenarios in Cuba and other political cases. They are at risk every day they remain in the difficult conditions of Cuban prisons, punished in multiple ways for their ideas and opposition to the regime.”
The platform Cubadecide has stated on various occasions that “the prisoners of July 11 are being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, they are completely denied penitentiary benefits, and many of them do not even have the support of their families.”
The Cuban totalitarian regime practices methods of torture against political prisoners, as various non-governmental organizations have documented, compiling testimonies from victims of repression.
In this regard, the CDPC recalled the existence of the so-called 'Mandela Rules', which "require the State to provide ongoing medical assistance to 'detect any signs of psychological stress or other issues caused by confinement, including the risk of suicide or self-harm'."
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