On the fifth anniversary of the protests on July 11, 2021, the organization Justicia 11J released a testimonial video this Saturday featuring voices of family members, artists, and activists who recalled that historic day and demanded that the world does not abandon those who remain imprisoned for having taken to the streets.
The video features the testimonies of José Daniel Ferrer, Haydée Milanés, historian Alina Bárbara López, actress Susana Pérez, actor Alberto Pujol, mothers Marta Perdomo and Yenisey Taboada, father Wilber Aguilar, Johana Cilano from Amnesty International, and activists Tata Poet and Anna Bensi.
Ferrer, the exiled opposition leader in Miami since October 2025 after more than three years in prison, issued the central warning of the material: «A cause does not succeed that abandons or leaves alone those who have the courage to stand up, to express themselves, to protest against oppression and misery».
Historian Alina Bárbara López emphasized the historical significance of that moment: "As a historian, it convinced me that Cuba was not and would never be an exception to the way events unfold in history."
One of the most heart-wrenching testimonies in the video comes from Wilber Aguilera, the father of the political prisoner Walnier Luis Aguilera: «It has been five years since he went through that door and has not been able to return. It has been an immense pain that we have experienced as a family because we can only see him for two hours each month in visitation rooms».
Taboada, mother of the political prisoner Duannis León, added: "My family has never been the same since our essential member is missing, my son, brother, grandson, friend, neighborhood barber." And regarding the judicial process: "I witnessed the trial that my son underwent, and it was an unjust trial. It was not a fair trial; there was never justice."
Johana Cilano, representative of Amnesty International, highlighted the scale of the problem with concrete figures: "Today, there are more than 800 people deprived of their liberty for political reasons in the country, and almost half of them were detained for participating precisely in the protests on July 11." Cilano described the date as "an open wound of human rights in Cuba" and called on the international community to demand an end to the repression.
The video also includes a warning about the internal state of the prisoners: “The greatest danger they face is not just perishing inside the prison, but losing their soul, losing the purity of their soul,” Susana Pérez warned.
The figure from Amnesty International contrasts with the record of 1,306 political prisoners that Prisoners Defenders counted at the end of June 2026, of which 338 were sentenced directly for their involvement in the protests of 2021.
The regime's pardon in April 2026, which freed over 2,000 inmates, explicitly excluded those convicted of "offenses against authority," the legal framework used to criminalize the demonstrators of 11J. The United States Embassy in Havana demanded this Saturday the release of political prisoners in light of the anniversary.
Justice 11J launched the campaign #FiveYearsWithoutJustice with a message that summarizes their stance: “There are circumstances that cannot be discussed only with data. Stories are needed to explain them.”
Marta Perdomo, mother of brothers Nadir and Jorge Martín Perdomo, captives of the regime, closed the video with a promise that encapsulates the spirit of the campaign: to demand freedom "until the end, until they are free."
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