FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Political prisoner Alexei Martínez Rojas’ life in danger after 21 days of hunger strike
The life of opposition activist Alexei Martínez Rojas, 52, is in grave danger after 21 days of a hunger strike in Villa Clara prison, demanding his immediate release, as he has committed no crime.
Yesterday, October 7, 2024, the Incidents Report Center of the Foundation for Pan-American Democracy (FDP) issued an Urgent Appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), requesting its intervention regarding the alarming situation of Martínez Rojas.
Martínez Rojas, an activist and promoter of the citizen initiative Cuba Decide, was arrested on September 17, 2024, accused of contempt. His arrest followed a live broadcast on Facebook, where he denounced abuses committed by a police officer in Taguayabón, revealing the beating the officer inflicted on another man who had been detained.
Mariangel Rodríguez Cruz, wife of Alexei, has expressed her anguish over her husband’s situation. He is a well-known human rights defender in Cuba and an outspoken critic of the regime. According to information received by Mrs. Rodríguez Cruz last Thursday, October 3, her husband’s health has become critical, and his weight dropped to just 47 kilograms. (103 lbs).
Rodríguez also mentioned that after her husband’s arrest, the authorities did not provide accurate information about his condition. She was allowed one visit on the seventh day, lasting only six minutes, always under police supervision, and since then, he has been held in isolation.
As we write this note, we have received reports of another political prisoner, Ángel Jesús Veliz Marcano, who has also declared a hunger strike, demanding his rights as an inmate, to be transferred to a minimum-security regime and eventually receive house arrest. Veliz was sentenced to six years in prison on false charges of assault and public disorder for participating in the July 11, 2021, protests. Ángel is currently being held in K9 prison in Camagüey.
The Foundation for Pan-American Democracy (FDP) warns of the imminent danger faced by Cuban political prisoners, many of whom are held in maximum-security prisons and subjected to torture. We condemn the human rights violations committed against Alexei Martínez Rojas and demand his immediate release.
We call on governments and international organizations to act urgently and demand that the Cuban regime ensure the life and freedom of Alexei and the 1,105 people unjustly imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba.
FDP Incidents Report Center
For more information:
Press Contact: info@fundaciondemocraciapanamericana.org
Twitter: @cubadecide @rosamariapaya
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