José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, independent Cuban writer and journalist, has been imprisoned for nearly two years for banging pots and pans during a peaceful protest, and the island's highest court has just closed the last legal door for him.
According to a report by the legal organization Cubalex this Friday, the Supreme People's Court upheld its sentence of six years for "public disorder".
The ruling, issued on July 28, 2026, rejected the appeal for cassation presented by the defense and also upheld the sentences against three other political prisoners from the same case: Rafael Javier Camacho Herrera, Yandri Torres Quintana, and Rodel Bárbaro Espinosa Rodríguez.
It all started in November 2024, when neighbors from Encrucijada, in Villa Clara, took to the streets with pots and pans after more than 48 hours without electricity, shouting “We want power!” in front of the municipal headquarters.
Barrenechea, a collaborator with the independent media 14ymedio, was detained along with other protesters. Cubalex documented at least nine arbitrary detentions related to that protest.
In January 2026, the Provincial Court of Villa Clara sentenced six people to a total of 34 years in prison. Barrenechea received six years. The defense appealed, arguing that there was no violence or vandalism, and that their actions were protected under the right to protest and the freedom of expression recognized in the Cuban Constitution itself.
The Supreme Court dismissed these arguments with a reasoning that human rights organizations deem abhorrent: according to the judges, the demonstration "exceeded constitutional protections by creating loud noises with metallic objects and obstructing pedestrian and vehicle passage".
Furthermore, he collectively held Barrenechea accountable for “integrating into the group's dynamics,” without providing evidence of any violent acts directly attributable to him.
Cubalex pointed out that this reasoning contradicts the General Comment No. 37 from the UN Human Rights Committee, which clearly states that “the temporary disruption of transit, noise, or chants does not eliminate the peaceful nature of a protest.”
But the cruelest aspect of the case is another. While Barrenechea was incarcerated in the La Pendiente prison in Santa Clara, his mother, Zoila Esther Chávez Pérez, 84 years old, was suffering from metastatic cancer.
Family members and activists requested humanitarian permits for him to visit her. The authorities denied them. A statement attributed to a prison official circulated among those following the case: “The son will see his mother when she dies”.
Zoila Esther passed away on May 4, 2025, without being able to see her son. The following day, Barrenechea was transferred under military custody to the wake for a brief and monitored farewell before returning to prison. From within the prison, he wrote a heartbreaking letter in which he expressed: “The guilt is mine”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Foundation, CIVICUS, and Prisoners Defenders have demanded his immediate release, describing his detention as arbitrary and his sentencing as retaliation for exercising peaceful protest.
Cubalex was unequivocal in its analysis: "Peacefully protesting is not a crime. Therefore, we reiterate our demand for the immediate and unconditional release of José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and all individuals imprisoned in Cuba for exercising their rights."
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