As Race and Equality has documented in our report, Premeditated Convictions: Analysis of the Situation of the Administration of Justice in Cuba, Cuban prisons are notorious for their inhumane conditions, including overcrowding, poor air circulation, and lack of access to fresh air. These conditions have been reported to cause bronchitis and other respiratory infections, creating a perfect environment for COVID-19 to spread and cause severe illness. While Cuban officials recently announced that outside visitors will no longer be permitted in prisons, prisoners are still at risk of contracting the virus from prison guards, who still circulate in the community. In the United States, this has caused widespread infection of inmates in prisons with devastating effects.

Recognizing the extreme risk faced by persons deprived of liberty, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called on governments to take measures to protect inmates, including by reducing the number of people in detention. Similarly, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has recognized that prisoners in the region have “a greater risk of the advance of COVID-19” and has urged States to “reduce overcrowding in detention centers as a measure to contain the pandemic.”

The risk to female political prisoners presented by COVID-19 is especially concerning given that Cuba authorities have denied medical attention to political prisoners in the past or provided inadequate care. For example, Xiomara Cruz Miranda, a Lady in White who was convicted of making threats, became gravely ill in prison. She was eventually transferred to a hospital, but her condition worsened as Cuban doctors withheld information about her illness from her family members and were unable to provide an effective treatment. She later left the country in order to seek medical care in the United States. Given this poor precedent in handling the medical needs of political prisoners, it is doubtful that the Cuban government will provide sufficient care to political prisoners who contract COVID-19.

Cuban prison officials have also been refusing to allow prisoners to receive food from their families as a means to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, they have not provided a replacement for this food, which prisoners rely on to survive given that the food provided by the prison is often rotting and lacking nutrition. According to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), “every prisoner shall be provided by the prison administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served.” This week, both Martha Sanchez Gonzalez and Aymara Nieto Muñoz were denied food that their family members worked hard to get to them, which is especially difficult because these women are located in detention centers far away from their homes and transportation in the country has been severely limited due to the virus. Aymara Nieto’s family was told that the food was rejected not because of the coronavirus crisis, but because it was paid for by “imperialist money.” Martha Sanchez Gonzalez has announced that she is going on hunger strike in protest of the horrible conditions she is facing.

Given the extreme danger faced by inmates, Race and Equality calls on the Cuban State to release all female political prisoners in its territory, including Melkis Faure Hechavarria, Maite Hernandez Guerra, Aymara Nieto Muñoz, and Martha Sanchez Gonzalez. These women were convicted of crimes they did not commit after peacefully protesting against the Cuban government. They are not criminals, they are not violent, and they should not be behind bars at any time, but especially not during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keeping these women in prison is a continuous violation of Cuba’s international human rights obligations, and Cuba must free these women now. Race and Equality asks the international community to continue to monitor the situation in Cuba and urge respect and protection for the human rights of female political prisoners. We invite the public to join our campaign, #CubanasLibresYa to protect the right to life and health of female political prisoners. View the campaign website here.