“The noblest way to avenge an insult is not to imitate he who has offended us.” – Jorge Manuel Valls Arango 1933 – 2015, a Cuban prisoner of conscience and a poet he spent 20 years and 40 days in a Cuban prison.
International Day of Political Prisoners
October 30th is the International Day of Political Prisoners. 52 years ago on October 30, 1974 the idea of marking a day of political prisoners in the Soviet Union was initiated with a 24-hour fast. It began a powerful movement against repression led by Russian dissidents, Sergei Kovalev and Andrei Sakharov.
Freedom House, the October 30 Coalition, and the National Endowment for Democracy invited the public to gather at the Lincoln Memorial for a ceremony honoring political prisoners and those working for their freedom.
Today in observance of the International Day of Political Prisoners at the Roll Call for Freedom on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, we joined former political prisoners, their families, and partner organizations to honor those who are still detained as political prisoners around the world. Among the images of political prisoners shown were the Cubans, Maykel Osorbo, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, and Saylí Navarro.
Also read out where the names Lizandra Góngora, Henry Constantín, Ángel de Jesús Veliz Marcano, Loreto Hernández, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Fernando Almenares Rivera, Ernesto Ricardo Medina, Jorge Yenier Ortiz Aguilera, Nadir Martin Perdomo, Kamil Zayas Perez, and Rolando Vazquez Fleita.
On a black screen many other names appeared including Virgilio Mantilla Arango.
We also saw and heard the names of political prisoners from Iran, Russia, Iran, China, Belarus, Egypt, Vietnam, Uganda, Rwanda, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Burma, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Turkey, and other countries around the world. Over two hundred former political prisoners, family members of political prisoners, human rights attorneys, and human rights activists gathered at the Lincoln Memorial.
Our message and call to action is both brief and powerful: #FreeThemAll
Freedom House in recognition of this day highlighted the cases of several current political prisoners last year, including two Cubans, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo.There are currently over one thousand three hundred political prisoners in Cuba. Two hundred more than in 2025.
Luis Manuel, recently exiled, spoke at today’s event while carrying out a performance honoring Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo. He also spoke about the plight of Lizandra Góngora.
Most were jailed for taking part in nationwide protests in July 2021demanding freedom, human rights, and an end to dictatorship. The National Endowment for Democracy, the World Movement for Democracy and Freedom House held a virtual event last year that provided a global context, and is available on Youtube.
The Cuban context
This blog entry explores this reality within the Cuban context. Cuban prisoners of conscience have been a reality in Cuba since 1959. Some of them had participated in the struggle against Batista, and made Fidel Castro’s rise to power possible.Huber Matos, a school teacher, declared himself in opposition to Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952 the day that Cuban democracy came under attack. Following the extrajudicial killing of some of his former students he joined the armed struggle and ended up being one of the leaders of the revolutionary insurrection that drove Batista from power early on New Year’s Day 1959.
