Seventeen Cubans were detained on March 21 in Crimea, a Ukrainian territory invaded by Russia in 2014 and since then under Russian control. They were all inside a house that they had rented in the city of Krasnodar when the police arrived, initially locking them inside before transferring them to a police station. Once there, they were identified and later divided into two groups and confined in Russian deportation centers.
"If they're going to deport us, then let them deport us already, that's what we want," says one of the 17 detained to CiberCuba.
Eight of the men have been separated from the women, some of whom are their wives, and they are being held in such precarious conditions that they claim to have gone seven days without bathing, "imprisoned in a room with no way out." Furthermore, they are only allowed to access the phone for one hour a day, while the women can connect between two and six in the afternoon.
None of the 17 Cubans detained had their paperwork in order. They all flew from Havana to Moscow and then took a train to Crimea with the intention of finding work, but upon arrival, they faced a harsh winter that made it impossible for them to go out and look for jobs.
The Russian police have released images of the detention of 17 Cubans. One of the arrested individuals has told CiberCuba that they were held at the Krasnodar police station from eight in the morning until eleven at night on March 22. At that time, they were taken back to the rental place where they had been detained and given an hour to shower and eat something.
"That time didn’t allow for the 17 to shower and eat. We gathered the essentials and were taken to the deportation center. The men still haven’t been able to shower, even today (Saturday, March 29)," comments one of the detainees.
"They really haven't mistreated us, but they haven't given us any answers. If the deportation order was issued and they want to deport us, then they should do it. That's what we want. We weren't on the street or working when we were detained. Since that moment, we've been kept locked in a room, without food, showers, or anything. We are here, with the women on one side and the men on the other, but we can see each other through a grate. They don't give us answers about anything. Some of us have been in Russia for a year. Others have been here for three months, and many of us have our permission to stay in Russia expiring today, March 29. For others, it expires on April 3. We entered with tourist visas. We don’t have any documents," they stated via WhatsApp.
"We came to Crimea to look for work, but we weren't given time. We couldn't work because of the weather. It was very cold. We told this to the police," he insisted.
Since December 2018, Cuban citizens can travel to Russia without a visa and stay in the country for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
The Russian police have increased immigration controls in the area. The detainees are facing entry bans to Russia ranging from 5 to 10 years.
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