GLA received word that yesterday, December 10, on International Human Rights Day, Association of Free Yorubas members Yolexi Sánchez was detained by State Security, and threatened with 3 years' jail time and loss of his job.
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The reason? He belonged to the Association of Free Yorubas and to civil society organization Julio Machado Academy. Cuban State Security assured Mr. Sánchez that if he didn't quit both the Free Yorubas and the Julio Machado Academy, the father of 3 would be fired from his job and given 3 years of prison for "endangerment." Mr. Sánchez of course refused to abandon his beliefs and friends. Listen to testimony from Free Yoruba leadership below.

GLA denounces all state attempts to control freedom of worship and assembly, and is defending Mr. Sánchez and all those repressed under totalitarian regimes like Cuba's.

Yesterday, December 8, marked one week since Cuban political prisoner Silverio Portal Contreras was announced as released from prison. Two years into a four-year sentence for "public disorder" and suffering from cardiovascular ailments and a prison injury, Mr. Portal was granted medical release.

A GLA network lawyer (whose name is withheld for security reasons) filed several appeals of Mr. Portal's sentence and applications for parole in 2020, which were instrumental in his release. See the press release below.

​On November 24, GLA network attorneys published a legal Opinion (Dictamen) that discusses how the National Revolutionary Police of Cuba are criminally responsible for violating the human rights of San Isidro Movement member Denis Solís González (pictured at left).

Cuba is a totalitarian police state that uses the color of law to project political legitimacy, yet Cuban officials systemically violate Cuban "laws and regulations." In this Dictamen, for example, lawyers working outside the state legal system detail violations of the fundamental rights of San Isidro Movement group member, Denis Solís González.

Yesterday, on September 30, 2020, two Cuban women who are members of the Association of Free Yorubas executive committee were arrested, held overnight, and beaten by State Security. 

Yesterday, on June 25, 2020, evangelical Pastor Ramón Rigal Rodríguez, of Guantánamo, Cuba, was released after over a year of unlawful imprisonment. Pastor Rigal and his wife, Adya Expósito, were sentenced in May 2019 to two and one-and-a-half years of prison for homeschooling their children.

In close collaboration with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in Purcellville, Virginia, and with Cuban religious leaders, the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) has been advocating for the release of the Rigal parents since their trial. In late April 2019, the GLA and the HSLDA petitioned the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for precautionary measures to protect the Rigal family and press Cuba to release them.

While the Rigal family is finally reunited, as Radio Televisión Martí has said, the reporter who covered their trial, GLA client Roberto Quiñones, is still unjustly imprisoned. You can find more information about GLA’s advocacy for the Rigal-Expósito family here. GLA is committed to defending fundamental rights, such as freedom of religion and of belief.

​You can learn more about GLA’s work on our Facebook page or our Twitter account.

On April 16, the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) called for the Cuban government to free Roberto Quiñones, imprisoned journalist, poet, and lawyer, to the custody of his family. GLA issued this statement in support of Mr. Quiñones's family, who are no longer be able to visit him in prison because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are concerned for his health.

Click on Read More to see GLA's press release.

​Today, March 27, 2020, Ayda Expósito Leyva, a Guantánamo pastor, wife of Pastor Ramón Rigal Rodríguez, and mother of two, was released from a yearlong prison sentence for having home-schooled her children. Her husband remains in prison until 2021. GLA is fighting against Cuba’s weak rule of law on behalf of the Rigal family; read our press release on the matter below.

​Escuelas cubanas cerradas, la madre completó sanción por educar en casa
Al día de hoy, el 27 de marzo de 2020, Ayda Expósito Leyva, pastora protestante de Guantánamo, esposa del Pastor Ramón Rigal Rodríguez y madre de dos hijos, fue liberada, tras 11 meses de cárcel por haber educado a sus hijos en el hogar. Su esposo se queda en prisión hasta el 2021. GLA sigue luchando contra el flojo imperio de la ley en Cuba por la familia Rigal; lea nuestro comunicado de prensa sobre el asunto a continuación.

From March 6 to early March 14, 2020, two Ladies in White were detained and held in jail without cause, and prevented from having visitors. See below for more details:

​Desde el 6 hasta el 14 de marzo, dos Damas de Blanco fueron detenidas, encarceladas y alejadas de visitas, sin causa alguna. Véase el documento a continuación para más detalles:

​Alexandria, Virginia – For several weeks, the Communist government of Cuba and the party apparatus have ruthlessly targeted Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (“UNPACU”). Unlawfully detained on October 1, 2019, Mr. Ferrer has since been subjected to all forms of torture.

With the support of Mr. Ferrer’s family and a coalition that represents a large cross-section of Cuba’s opposition movement, the Global Liberty Alliance (“GLA”) requested that the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights of the Organization of American States press the Cuban government to adopt precautionary measures to protect the lives of Mr. Ferrer and his other UNPACU colleagues who have been unlawfully detained in Cuba for weeks.

Attached is the complete press release with supporting documentation.

• 2011-11-JDF-OAS-Press-Release
• 2019-11-JDF-Legal-Analysis-from-Cuba-Lawyers
• 2011-11-JDF-OAS-CIDH-ES-50358
• PRESS-RELEASE-FROM-THE-DIRECTORATE-OF-THE-PATRIOTIC-UNION-OF-CUBA