Mother of 11J political prisoner suffers a stroke upon learning about her son's beating.

The mother of the Cuban political prisoner Duannis León Taboada, who was imprisoned following the protests on July 11, 2021, suffered a stroke this Wednesday upon learning that her son had been beaten and transferred to a punishment cell at the Combinado del Este prison in Havana.

The news was spread through the Facebook activism page "Las Taniadas," where it was reported that Jenni Taboada, the mother of the detainee, is "aware and able to communicate." Taboada, recognized for her constant fight for her son's rights, was accompanied by other activists while waiting to be seen by a neurologist at the Clinical Surgical Hospital of 26.

"Las Taniadas" also alerted about the urgency of finding a hospital in Havana that is performing Computed Tomography (CT) scans and a neurologist who can attend to Jenni as soon as possible.

In their message, the activists sent a direct warning to the Cuban regime: “To the henchmen: do not prevent this mother, who has suffered so much and bravely stood up to you, from receiving the medical attention she needs. Take her son out of the punishment cell and allow her to call him. It is the best for everyone because the situation could worsen.”

For her part, Kenia Romero, mother of the former political prisoner Luis Darién Reyes Romero, requested the support of Cuban influencers to bring visibility to the case of Jenni Taboada. In her Facebook post, Romero highlighted: "She is not famous; she is simply the mother of a political prisoner who took to the streets on 11J to demand freedom for Cuba and is now in a delicate state of health."

Additionally, the Cuban art historian and activist Anamely Ramos reported that Yoanki Báez Albornoz, another political prisoner, has declared a hunger strike inside the Combinado del Este in solidarity with his friend Duannis León Taboada. Ramos emphasized that both young men, although sentenced to 14 years in prison, are innocent and should not be incarcerated alongside common criminals serving long sentences for serious crimes.

Last year, Jenni Taboada confessed that she felt desperate and that she had been without life for a year and a half.

"Look, it's been a year and a half living without life, suffering, and with tremendous pain, a pain that is completely destroying my whole life from the inside. For me and for thousands of mothers out there, for fathers and family members, for all these young people who are in prison," said the woman in a live broadcast shared on Facebook.

The woman assured that her son's time in prison has deeply deteriorated his health.

"Let no one dare to say that we have peace, and let no one come to disrupt the peace that we have here in Cuba. We do not have peace even while sleeping, if one can actually sleep. At least I have been dealing with a terrible sleep disorder for a year and a half," he affirmed.

Months earlier, her son had written her an emotional letter from prison to help her cope with the suffering she is experiencing.

"I feel empty due to the distance and your concern. I find myself sad, I miss my family, my heart is heavy, my eyes reflect it, tears cover them like mist over a mountain," expressed the 23-year-old young man.

The letter expresses the prisoner's wishes for his mother to stay strong amid all the problems the family has faced since he was sentenced to 14 years of deprivation of liberty for the crime of sedition.