At least four Cuban protesters have died in prison since 2021

The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) denounced on Wednesday that the number of peaceful Cuban protesters killed in prison rises to four, after their participation in the historic protests of July 2021.

In this regard, the organization explained that the most recent case is that of political prisoner Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas. Relatives denounced that Guillen died last November 30 after suffering a beating.

The observatory recalled that the young man, 29 years old and an activist of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and promoter of Cuba Decide was serving a six-year prison sentence charged with "sabotage," in the Combinado del Este prison, in Havana.

"His cousin Yan Franco denounced that the prison guards gave him the beating, and then told relatives that the young man had taken his own life," the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights wrote in a press release.

Guillen's case is in addition to that of Luis Barrios Diaz, "who died after irregularities and negligence on the part of prison authorities in relation to his serious health situation. Barrios, 37 years old, died on Sunday, November 19, 2023 at La Covadonga Hospital, in Havana, as a result of respiratory complications."

The observatory detailed that Diaz had presented worrying symptoms since August. He was admitted to the infirmary of the 1580 prison, in San Miguel del Padrón, and later transferred to the aforementioned hospital.

"However, despite medical warnings, the authorities decided to return him to the prison. In January 2022 he had been sentenced to nine years in prison for his participation in the 11J demonstrations, charged with alleged crimes of public disorder and attack," the OCDH highlighted.

On August 26, 2024, political prisoner Yosandri Mulet Almarales, 37 years old, died in Havana's Julio Trigo hospital, after having attempted suicide four days earlier. Mulet Almarales was serving a 10-year sentence for the July 11-12 protests in La Güinera, Havana.

The observatory explained that Mulet Almarales was suffering from mental disorders. In June 2022 he had also attempted to end his life in the Combinado del Este prison, but the penitentiary institution refused to grant him an extrapenal license.

Gerardo Díaz Alonso, 35 years old and sentenced to 14 years in prison for his participation in the demonstrations in Cárdenas, Matanzas, died on October 17, 2024, after suffering a heart attack. Diaz Alonso, father of two children, was being held in the high security prison of Canaleta, in Ciego de Avila.

"It is an extermination. The Cuban regime is destroying the lives of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. In addition to unjust sentences, in prisons they are subjected to inhumane conditions, especially health and food conditions," wrote the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights.

The organization, moreover, called on the international community, mainly the United States to demand the release of all political prisoners and an end to repression on the island.