The Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer reacted to the announcement from the Havana regime to pardon over 2,000 sanctioned individuals, questioning the true intentions behind the measure and its actual scope.
Ferrer stated on his X profile that the regime is trying to “get out of the bind it is in” through such decisions, and questioned whether the release includes individuals imprisoned for political reasons.
“Will they release Félix Navarro, Saylí, Maikel Osorbo, Luis Manuel Otero, Lisandra Góngora, Noslén Ayala, and all the other political prisoners?” he asked in his post, referring to several opponents and activists who remain incarcerated.
The leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba also questioned the conditions under which these releases could take place.
"Is it to liberate, or to release dying prisoners from hunger and disease while continuing to imprison people for political reasons, including minors?" he pointed out.
Although he expressed relief for those who may be released from prison, Ferrer insisted that this type of measure does not address the underlying situation in the country nor the allegations of repression.
"I am glad for those who escape from those hellish places that are the many prisons of tyranny, but pardons are not the solution," he stated.
In that regard, he emphasized that the only real solution lies in a profound political change.
"The only valid solution is the end of the tyranny that is currently trying to buy time to save itself at any cost," he added.
The Cuban regime announced on Thursday the release of 2,010 individuals as part of a pardon approved under the prison benefits established by law and in accordance with the Constitution.
According to the official version, the measure is a result of a “careful analysis” that took into account factors such as the behavior of the inmates, the time served of their sentences, the nature of the crimes committed, and their health condition.
The beneficiaries include young people, women, seniors over 60 years old, individuals nearing the end of their sentence, as well as foreigners and Cubans living abroad.
However, those convicted of serious crimes, as well as repeat offenders and multiple repeat offenders, were excluded from the pardon, as detailed by the authorities.
The announcement comes in the context of the Holy Week celebrations and marks the second release this year, part of a practice that the government presents as customary within its penal system.
As a critical point, it is noteworthy that those excluded include the so-called "crimes against authority," a category that in the Cuban context is often used against protesters and critical citizens, thereby leaving out individuals sanctioned for political reasons.
Moreover, the exclusion of those who have previously received clemency reinforces a punitive approach that does not differentiate between common recidivism and contexts marked by the country’s own social crisis.
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