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The historian and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández was detained this Saturday in Matanzas while trying to exercise her right to civic protest, and she is being held at the Playa Police Unit without being allowed to communicate with anyone.
Her daughter Cecilia Borroto López was the first to raise the alarm via Facebook: "Alina Bárbara López Hernández has been prevented from exercising her right to civic protest and is currently detained at the Playa Police, Matanzas. They have not allowed her to communicate with anyone."
The family tried to obtain information by calling the police unit, but the authorities initially denied that the activist was there. "Our family called the Playa Police, and they denied that Alina was there. We called again, and then they confirmed it. In the report, they say that she will not be charged, but they needed to talk to her," Cecilia reported.
The activist's daughter warned that this approach is a well-known trap: "These practices are the same as always, illegal detention, refusal to allow Alina to communicate with her family, denial of information to relatives, and 'conversation' which is actually an interrogation/monologue with the State Security."
In another Facebook post on his personal profile, Borroto López specified that the supposed "conversation" is actually a State Security interrogation, and he reminded that during the previous detention, the authorities made the same promise: "The last time she was detained, they also said that they would not press charges, which turned out to be a deception. We demand her immediate release. Alina has nothing to discuss."
The detention this Saturday follows a systematic and documented pattern. Since March 2023, López has been holding peaceful monthly protests on the 18th of each month at the Parque de la Libertad in Matanzas, demanding amnesty for political prisoners, a constituent assembly, and an end to repression. The authorities have responded with repeated detentions, communication restrictions, and judicial processes that his associates describe as fabricated.
The legal context for the activist is particularly serious. Since June 18, 2024, she has been under precautionary house arrest due to a case in which she is accused of "assault" along with sociologist Jenny Pantoja Torres, and the prosecution is seeking four years of imprisonment. The trial, scheduled for January 30, 2026, at the People's Municipal Court of Matanzas, was indefinitely suspended by Judge Ysenia Rodríguez Vázquez without setting a new date, citing a "reorganization of judicial activity."
On February 18, López had already been detained for 12 hours along with activist Leonardo Romero Negrín while they were heading to the Parque de la Libertad for their monthly protest. After being released, additional charges of "disobedience" were brought against her, which she denied.
The arrest this Saturday comes as the house arrest measure remains in effect and with the trial yet to be scheduled, which further complicates her legal situation. Cecilia Borroto López concluded her complaint with a direct demand: "We demand her immediate release. Alina has nothing to 'discuss'."
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