Cuba: Prisoners Of Conscience Re-Imprisonment
On 14 January 2025, Cuban authorities announced the release of 553 individuals “in the spirit of the Jubilee Year,” following conversations with Pope Francis. The U.S. simultaneously declared it would remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Despite official denials of coordination, civil society organizations confirmed that the releases focused on those detained for participating in the 11 July 2021 protests. However, the process lacked transparency, excluded victims and families, and imposed conditions without legal safeguards.
José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro are prominent Cuban opposition leaders and prisoners of conscience. Both were re-imprisoned on 29 April 2025 under opaque conditions, without access to legal counsel or their families. They had previously been released in January 2025 under a conditional regime imposed without their consent, as part of a process reportedly linked to talks with the Vatican and the United States.
Until the 6 of May of 2025, José Daniel remains a victim of enforced disappearance. Although his family has received informal indications that he is being held at Mar Verde prison, they have not received any official communication regarding his whereabouts or legal situation. His family has not been able to have direct contact with him and is deeply concerned about his health and physical integrity, especially after his wife was denied visitation on two separate occasions. The family also indicated that José Daniel might be in incommunicado detention. The use of solitary confinement or isolation, particularly when prolonged or indefinite, must be strictly regulated and only applied in exceptional cases. Any sustained denial of communication with the outside world raises grave human rights concerns.
Ferrer, leader of the unofficial group UNPACU, was first detained in July 2021 for attempting to join nationwide protests. He was charged with “public disorder” but never tried, and his prior house arrest sentence was revoked. He has suffered constant harassment and reports health deterioration due to prolonged imprisonment and incommunicado detention.
Navarro, a 71-year-old dissident and founder of the “Pedro Luis Boitel” Party for Democracy, has spent over three decades promoting peaceful political reform. Arrested in July 2021 while advocating for detained colleagues, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. He suffers from chronic health conditions and has received inadequate medical care in detention.
Amnesty International has denounced the broader pattern of repression and lack of transparency around the January releases. Many individuals were freed without guarantees, information, or legal clarity. Conditional release is being used as a tool of control, and dozens of activists remain at risk of re-arrest. Since their release from prison, they have been victims of repeated arbitrary detentions, threats and harassment for their political activism, their denunciation of human rights violations in Cuba and even for their humanitarian work.
Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights in Cuba.