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The Cuban political prisoner Walnier Luis Aguilar turned 26 years old, but he is doing so in prison, far from his family, after being sentenced for participating in the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J) in Havana.
His father, Wilber Aguilar, publicly denounced the situation in a message shared on Facebook on the occasion of the young man's birthday.
"Today my son Walnier is turning 26, more than 300 km away, but we will not celebrate. We live in the saddest country in the world where justice is the one that commits injustices against our young people, a place where courage is punished and cowardice is rewarded. Our celebration will be on the day of freedom; today I also replace the word congratulations with the word freedom—freedom for my son Walnier, freedom for all political prisoners, peace for Cuban families. Long live a free Cuba! Down with the dictatorship! Freedom," said his father on social media on February 13th.
Walnier was sentenced to several years of imprisonment after protesting during the 11J. Since then, he has been transferred to different penitentiary centers in the country, including the Agüica prison in Matanzas, and later to Sancti Spíritus, more than 300 kilometers away from his family environment.
In January of last year, his father reported that the prison authorities were pressuring the young man to sign documents against his will, despite his medical condition. “My son has an intellectual disability, a brain injury, and after more than four years of this injustice, they are forcing him to sign a document,” he stated at that time. He also publicly warned: “If my son stands firm, I will stand firm at 15 and K.”
Previously, in November 2025, the United States Embassy in Cuba expressed on its official X account: “We are very concerned about the abuse and treatment of political prisoner Walnier Luis Aguilar and the hundreds of others who remain unjustly imprisoned. It's time for their release.”
The case has also been documented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which granted precautionary measures to his family in 2025 due to reports of threats and reprisals.
This 26th birthday unfolds behind bars. For his family, there is no celebration, only a repeated demand: freedom.
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