And Cuban who participated in the demonstrations July 11, 2021, he died in a Havana prison. becoming the third prisoner to die related to those historic protests, two human rights organizations reported on Monday.
Justice 11Jan NGO based in Mexico, said on its X account that it “has learned of the recent death in prison of the 11J protester (…) Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugaswho was being held” in the Combinado del Este, a prison in Havana.
Guillén, 30 years old and who belonged to the banned opposition organization Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), died on Saturday after trying to escape from prison and being apprehended, he told the news agency AFP Camila Rodriguezdirector of Justice 11J.
Rodríguez explained that, according to the versions collected by the NGO among Guillén’s relatives and other inmates, the guards beat him, leaving “marks on his body as evidence.”
“Then, the prison authorities themselves spread the narrative that he had hanged himself in a punishment cell and that it had been suicide,” Rodríguez added.
In a video circulating on social networks, Guillén’s relatives can be seen next to a stretcher on which he lies lifeless.
“They killed him, they beat him and they killed him”a woman who claims to be his mother can be heard saying in the video, whose authenticity is AFP could not confirm.
La ONG Cubalexbased in Miami, also reported the death of Guillén Esplugas on Monday and pointed out that it has identified a “pattern” in the “excessive use of force” by state agents. Other sources have reported that the beating occurred in a punishment cell, after having been captured following an escape attempt.
He called for an independent and thorough investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death.
“The young man was allegedly brutally beaten by prison guards, according to his mother. The beating occurred in a punishment cell after a failed escape attempt, according to the Justice 11J report,” the NGO said.
The relatives of the opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferreralso apprehended on July 11, 2021, reported in November that he was “brutally beaten,” which led to an exchange of accusations between Cuban and United States authorities.
According to Justice 11J, this is the third protester who died while serving his sentence. The first was Luis Barrios Díaz, in November 2023 and the second Yosandri Mulet Almaraleson August 26 of this year.
According to official figures, some 500 protesters were sentenced to up to 25 years for participating in the July 2021 protests. Some have been released after serving their sentences.
Human rights organizations and the United States embassy on the island count up to a thousand, calling them “political prisoners.”
The Cuban government denies the existence of political prisoners on the island and accuses opponents of being “mercenaries” of the United States.
(With information from AFP)
