Cubalex reported this Monday the confirmation of the death in custody of the political prisoner Ernesto Brieva Sempé, a participant in the protests of July 11, 2021, which occurred in the early morning hours from May 12 to 13 at the Combinado del Este prison in Havana.
The Cuban human rights and legal aid organization reported the case on its social media and indicated that Brieva Sempé, 48 years old, was in a severe state of malnutrition at the time of his death.
According to Cubalex, Brieva Sempé had been sentenced to five years of corrective labor without internment for his participation in the protests in the area known as El Toyo, in the municipality of Diez de Octubre.
However, "sources close to the matter claim that the sanction was lifted and he remained imprisoned for maintaining a critical stance against the system."
The case dossier reveals that in the trial held on November 25, 2022 against 15 protesters from Diez de Octubre, Brieva Sempé had originally received a 12-year sentence of imprisonment.
In addition to severe malnutrition, Cubalex reported that the State Security monitored the funeral of the political prisoner, a practice that human rights organizations have documented as a form of intimidation against the victims' families.
El Combinado del Este, the largest prison in Cuba, has repeatedly been highlighted for its inhumane conditions.
Days before the death of Brieva Sempé, drastic reductions in food rations for its inmates had already been reported.
The death of Brieva Sempé is the sixth of a protester from the 11J under state responsibility since 2021, according to the count by Cubalex.
This year also saw the passing of the political prisoner from 11J, Luis Miguel Oña Jiménez, at the age of 27, who died in February after suffering a cerebral ischemia in prison and was released on extrapenal license when he was already in a terminal state.
The organization warned that so far in 2026, it has reported 20 deaths in custody in Cuban prisons, in the context of alarming increase in fatalities in the penal system of the island.
Cubalex extended its condolences to the family of Ernesto Brieva and demanded "an independent and impartial investigation into his death, as well as guarantees of protection for those deprived of liberty and an end to reprisals against those who exercise their right to freedom of expression."
Filed under: