To promote a peaceful transition to a Cuba that respects human rights
and political and economic freedoms
Urgent call to action for 27 year old female Cuban political prisoner in grave danger. Victim of Repression denounces rights violations in Cuba, despite efforts to silence him
Today has been an important day for victims of repression in Cuba. At a session of the UN Human Rights Council, a victim of repression was able to speak for 90 seconds on the existing systemic human rights rights violations in Cuba.
At the same time Cuban human rights defenders are extremely concerned about the plight of a young woman jailed for her defense of human rights and beaten for attempting to document prison conditions in the island has been transferred to a psychiatric facility, and allegedly tried to commit suicide.
Cuban political prisoner Keilylli de la Mora Valle, age 27
The Center for a Free Cuba earlier today sent out an urgent appeal to human rights organizations around the world to intercede on behalf of Keilylli de la Mora Valle, a 27 year old Cuban human rights defender whose life at this moment is in great danger. A portion of this appeal is reproduced below and explains the urgency of her plight:
... "Keilylli de la Mora Valle, a 27 year old human rights activist and resident of Cienfuegos. She is a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and describes herself as "a free and independent Cuban who is 100% Anti-Castro." She is now serving an unjust 18 month prison sentence, and this is her second arbitrary detention for political reasons. She had already served a ten month prison sentence that was politically motivated, and suffered "cruel and inhuman treatment" during this first prison sentence according to a statement she made on June 1, 2020. Keilylli entered prison on June 4, 2020 and managed to record conditions in the prison with a hidden camera which outraged officials and began applying punishments, including a physical beating, and extending her prison sentence that drove her to start a hunger and thirst strike that lasted 12 days, and led to her hospitalization.
Continued ill treatment by prison officials led her to announce a second hunger and thirst strike on June 30th, and on July 2nd it was learned that prison officials had claimed that Keilylli de la Mora Valle had "attempted suicide" and was transferred to Gustavo Aldereguia Hospital, the psychiatric hospital in Cienfuegos. There has been no independent verification of her condition by friends or family being able to visit her. The news that she has been sent to a psychiatric facility fills knowledgeable Cuban watchers with dread. The Castro regime has a long track record of using psychiatry as a political weapon and these institutions have also had a record of neglect in which patients have died from exposure."
Below is a tweet with a video of Keilylli from June 1, 2020 that shows a strong young woman confronting the fact that she is about to begin her second prison sentence in Cuba for her human rights activism.
We remain profoundly concerned for her wellbeing.
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