(Drawing by Danilo Maldonado “El Sexto” from Valle Grande Prison, Havana, Cuba)
According to Danilo Maldonado Machado aka El Sexto’s family and fellow activists, Cuban State Security had promised Danilo would be released from Valle Grande prison in Havana this morning, August 24th, at approximately 10 am ET, after having served almost 8 months in prison, without trial, for an attempted artistic performance dating back to last December.
Per Danilo’s mother, Maria Victoria Machado, and Lia Villares, the Havana based coordinator of the #FreeElSexto campaign, members of Cuba’s State Security promised that Maldonado, along with up to seven other prisoners, whose names appear below, would be released this morning. So far, none of them have been released:
- Yusel Perez Cape
- Ariel Ibargollin Cape
- Yoslay Perez Cape
- Carlos Amaury Calderin Roca
- Emilio Serrano
- Alexis Garcia Guzman
- Rocky Mederos Martinez
Most of the names referenced above can be found on a post on El Sexto’s blog. The rest were mentioned by Maria Victoria earlier today on the phone to FHRC.
Villares made a declaration to the FHRC today, announcing a call to the people of Cuba to come to Havana: “to all who want to come and show solidarity with Danilo’s family. They are very elderly people, but they will resist here until they give us a coherent response, they will not leave. We will again now go to the attention of the citizenship and see if they send us to a superior who can give us a response.”
UPDATE (1:18 pm ET) : According to Maria Victoria Machado, family and friends of Danilo’s who went to Valle Grande today to await his release, have been informed by the “2nd in charge of the prison” that “no orders were received for any of the prisoners mentioned above, including Danilo to be released today.”
Please follow @FHRCuba on Twitter for the latest on Danilo’s situation along with other political prisoners currently being held in Cuban jails.
