Related videos:
As the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the prison benefit process announced by the Cuban regime in January 2025 approaches, the platform Justicia 11J presented its report “Neither Free Nor All: Contextual Nature and Repressive Conditions of Releases in Cuba” on January 15, 2026.
The document indicates that between January 15 and March 10, 2025, at least 212 individuals sanctioned for political reasons were benefitted, with 90% of the releases occurring in the first six days, from January 15 to 20. After a month of silence, the process was reactivated with 21 additional releases, which—according to Justicia 11J—demonstrated a discretionary and non-linear handling of the process, adjusted to political logics rather than verifiable legal criteria.
In its report, the organization emphasized that "in no case did this involve full freedoms," as the released individuals "remained subject to revocable prison benefits, with movement restrictions, police surveillance, frequent summonses, and explicit threats of returning to prison." Justicia 11J added that "the legal framework used for the releases does not guarantee any stability nor prevents arbitrary detention," and that "the released individuals continue to be under the political and judicial control of the State."
The organization also shared on its X (Twitter) account that after the release, repression continued and that monitoring of these individuals confirmed that the punishment persisted outside of prison.
The monitoring identified that the group was composed of 86% men and 14% women, with an average age of 36 years. Eight individuals were 60 years or older, and six were detained at the ages of 17 and 18. The report reminded that "the Cuban state ignored international standards during the release process, keeping women in prison who met the criteria outlined in the United Nations' Bangkok Rules." Justicia 11J added: "In at least five cases, women who were mothers of minors were excluded from the process without apparent justification."
Ninety-eight percent of those released from prison were serving sentences related to the events of July 11th. On average, they had spent about three and a half years in prison. The most common sentence was five years, imposed 54 times, while 29 individuals had sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years. One hundred thirty-one people had served more than half of their sentence, and 38 had chronic health conditions or disabilities.
Justicia 11J concluded that "the releases of 2025 did not close the repressive cycle, but rather shifted it: from prison to supervised release, from formal confinement to permanent control." The organization warned that "the freedom of individuals has been instrumentalized to obtain political favors, while the conditions that allow for their arbitrary detention and use as bargaining chips persist." The report further emphasizes: "The Cuban state did not grant freedom, but rather an extended punishment regime that goes beyond the walls of the prison."
In its final call, Justicia 11J reiterated: The existence of even a single political prisoner and prisoner of conscience is an affront to human rights. Freedom for all now!
Amnesty International Americas published on January 14 on its official account the message: “It was not freedom: the bitter outcome of the releases in Cuba.” It recalled that on January 14, 2025, the Cuban state announced the granting of freedom to 553 individuals sanctioned for various offenses, in the context of the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. A year later, it stated that the process was not freedom, but an extension of the repressive system.
Amnesty International researcher Johanna Cilano shared this statement on her X profile and added that “the entire process of releases was marked by a lack of transparency and the ongoing repression.” She further emphasized that “the existence of political prisoners was not acknowledged, and hundreds remain in Cuban prisons solely for exercising their human rights.” Cilano added, “The releases do not imply justice or reparation; they are part of the same web of control that keeps Cuba an open-air prison.”
Cilano warned that many of the individuals released from prison have been imposed restrictions that severely limit their human rights, and that others are facing surveillance, internet cuts, harassment, and new arrests.
The report and international reactions agree that the release process of 2025 did not represent a structural change in the repressive policy of the Cuban State, but rather the continuation of a control system that, in the words of Justicia 11J, keeps the entire country under a form of monitored freedom.
Filed under: