"They are trying to destroy a family." - Pastor Ramón Rigal
On April 25, 2019, married Pastors Ramón Rigal Rodríguez and Adya Expósito Leyva, of Guantánamo, Cuba, were arrested and imprisoned for educating their children at home, not at the state-run school as the Cuban regime demands. The alleged crime was “Other Acts against the Normal Development of a Minor” (the Tejeda-Lescailles were threatened with this charge). On May 21, the husband and wife were sentenced to two and one year of prison respectively. They were pressured into sending the children to state-run school so that they could live with their grandparents until their parents’ release. One grandmother suffers from serious health issues. The parents’ appeals were denied. In late April 2019, GLA and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) petitioned the OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for precautionary measures for the Rigals, and encouraged the introduction of U.S. Senate Resolution 215, defending Cuban religious freedom, on May 21, 2019.
On March 27, 2020, ironically as Cuban children were required to home school in response to COVID-19, Ms. Expósito Leyva was released after over eleven months of prison (two weeks early). Pastor Rigal still serves out his two-year sentence and is due for release in 2021.
While Ms. Expósito's release has been a great relief for the family, Pastor Rigal is still in prison. GLA continues to defend the Rigals’ fundamental rights to freedom of conscience.
On March 27, 2020, ironically as Cuban children were required to home school in response to COVID-19, Ms. Expósito Leyva was released after over eleven months of prison (two weeks early). Pastor Rigal still serves out his two-year sentence and is due for release in 2021.
While Ms. Expósito's release has been a great relief for the family, Pastor Rigal is still in prison. GLA continues to defend the Rigals’ fundamental rights to freedom of conscience.
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