Related videos:
Four months after his imprisonment in Holguín, the young activist Kamil Zayas Pérez, a member of the independent audiovisual project El4tico, managed to send a handwritten political statement from prison in which he makes harsh criticisms of the Cuban regime and urges citizens not to give up their rights or remain silent.
The document was shared on social media by Paula Amador Lobón, a close collaborator of the project, who shared the transcript of the text along with a design created by Kamil himself from prison. The image depicts a coin with the phrase "In 4tico we trust," a reference to the American motto "In God We Trust."
"Let it serve as a testament that they could not do less than this, and also as encouragement to stop holding our heads down," wrote Amador Lobón when posting the message.
In the statement, handwritten on notebook paper and signed with his full name, the young man denounces what he considers decades of political regression in Cuba and accuses the authorities of clinging to power at any cost.
"I come to formally report them under my absolute responsibility, even at the risk of my own physical integrity in the face of the prevailing chaos," he wrote.
One of the most notable passages of the text is addressed to young Cubans, encouraging them to express their ideas fearlessly and to stand strong against repression.
"The dignified Cuban, who is not afraid to express his thoughts, who does not take a step back in this hour of true men," he stated.
The statement concludes with a defense of individual freedoms and popular sovereignty.
"Because if the right to be happy is suspended, the full enjoyment of freedom, the desire to gather, and the will to act and to speak, we become slaves. Because sovereignty resides in the people. Long live a dignified Cuba!" he wrote.
This is Kamil's second public communication since his arrest. The first one surfaced on February 21 of this year and consisted of a brief message that quickly spread among activists and dissidents: "It has been worth it. Don't give up."
Kamil Zayas Pérez and Ernesto Ricardo Medina were detained during the early hours of February 6 in a State Security operation that included a search of their home and the confiscation of work equipment, including a laptop, a camera, a mobile phone, a tripod, and a router.
Subsequently, the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Holguín charged them with the crimes of "propaganda against the constitutional order" and "incitement to commit crimes," accusations that could lead to prison sentences of up to nine years.
The legal actions taken by their family members have also not been successful. A habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of the youths was rejected by the Provincial Court of Holguín.
The case has raised concern both within and outside of Cuba. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for their immediate release just days after the arrests, as did the Inter American Press Association.
The situation of Ernesto Medina has also sparked public outcry. According to a letter released by his mother in April, the young man refused to record a video of repentance and retraction that, allegedly, was requested by State Security agents.
Filed under: