Sissi Abascal Zamora, the youngest Lady in White in Cuba, described in an interview with the "Tierras de Libertad" program from Martí Noticias the conditions of the women's prison on the island and the human cost of confronting the regime, just days after arriving in Miami following nearly four and a half years of political imprisonment.
Abascal, 27 years old, was arrested on November 3, 2021, in Carlos Rojas, municipality of Jovellanos, province of Matanzas, for participating in the protests on July 11 of that year. The Municipal Court of Jovellanos sentece her to six years in prison for contempt, assault, and public disorder.
"The cost of reporting from inside the prison: you could lose a visit, a conjugal visit, phone calls, or end up in a punishment cell," stated Abascal during the interview, recorded alongside his mother Annia Zamora, who is also an activist and a Dama de Blanco.
One of the most poignant moments of the testimony was the account of his separation from Sayli Navarro, his prison mate at La Bellotex in Matanzas, who was sentenced to eight years for the 11J and remains incarcerated.
"For me, Sayli is the strongest and bravest woman; I say she is unbreakable. When I was taken away, I couldn't say goodbye to her, they wouldn't let me, but I ran over and was able to give her a kiss, and I started to cry," Abascal recounted.
Her mother described the suffering accumulated during the time her daughter was imprisoned, including an episode in which inmates set mattresses on fire inside the cell while the authorities did not unlock the padlock.
"It has been four years, four months, fourteen days... tears of blood because what the Cuban prisoner experiences is known only by them and their families," said Annia Zamora.
Annia also explained that her husband Armando Abascal made the decision to remain in Cuba with their son and a grandson to continue supporting the prisoners of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party, including Sayli Navarro, her father Félix Navarro —president of the party— and Francisco Rangel.
The release of Abascal was managed by the Fundación Rescate Jurídico, led by activist Santiago Álvarez from Miami, through a humanitarian visa from the U.S. Department of State. The organization Cubalex classified his departure as "freedom contingent on exile," a common mechanism used by the regime to exile opponents. His sentence was set to expire on November 5, 2027, leaving him with approximately 14 months at the time of his release.
Despite the pain of forced exile, Abascal stated that she felt proud of what her imprisonment represented: "I felt proud of who I was, because I was imprisoned for raising my voice and for saying down with the dictatorship and long live a free Cuba."
The activist arrived in Miami last Thursday accompanied by her mother and other family members. Both the U.S. Embassy in Cuba and the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the State Department welcomed Abascal, describing her detention as "unjust" and acknowledging the pain of forced exile.
Abascal concluded his message with a promise directed to those who remain imprisoned: "Do not lose hope, have faith, for I will continue to raise my voice for political prisoners, for the average Cuban, until the day comes when the wall falls, and we will be back."
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