Reports from Cuba: Prison Diary XXXIV: Courts That Offer Revenge

By Angel Santiesteban-Prats in Translating Cuba:

Prison Diary XXXIV: Courts That Offer Revenge

The best thing that could happen to me in prison is that time slips away, because between editing unpublished manuscripts, creating some story, reading, writing posts, and listening to complaints from the prisoners, I barely have time to sleep.

Alexander Sanchez Izquierda complains about the arbitrariness with which they sentenced him. The instructor, First Lieutenant Dueña of the Sixth Station, is the godmother of his ex, and assured him during his detention that she would get revenge for his breaking up his marriage to her.


To achieve this, the officer to let him know he hurt-Alexander-was the one who had committed the crime and not accepted during the trial witnesses attesting to his innocence.

To achieve this, the officer told the injured one that he — Alexander — was the one who committed the crime, and during the trial they didn’t accept witnesses who’d testified to his innocence.

Alexander asked me how it’s possible that a government can ask for “justice” for five spies who carry several deaths on their shoulders, and not worry about the courts handing out justice to its nationals.

Alexander is waiting to finish his ten-year sentence to fight for the freedom of Cuba. He says the Cuban people can continue supporting the prisons being flooded by innocent people.

This is what we all are waiting for, I say to him. Meanwhile, we continue being the children nobody wants.

Ángel Santiesteban-Prats, Prison 1580, June 2013