Cuban opposition leaders Félix Navarro and José Daniel Ferrer have been detained again incommunicado and without legal guarantees, after having been released in January under a conditional release regime imposed without their consent. Cubalex warns that these events are part of a repressive pattern that uses conditional release as a tool for surveillance and political punishment.
In the early morning of April 29, 2025, Cuban opposition leaders ITP1T and José Daniel Ferrer García were detained again by state agents in procedures marked by secrecy, violence, and a complete lack of due process. More than 24 hours after their detention, their whereabouts remain officially unknown, their families have been unable to visit them, and they have received no information about their location or legal status. Cubalex considers this to constitute enforced disappearance under international standards. These events are part of a systematic pattern of violations of Cuban domestic law and international human rights law, which began the moment they were released from prison in January of this year under a conditional release regime.
The legal and testimonial analysis conducted demonstrates that, in both the cases of Félix Navarro and José Daniel Ferrer, the Cuban state has instrumentally used the concept of parole for repressive purposes. This benefit of early release, regulated by Law 152/2022 on Criminal Enforcement and its implementing regulations approved by Decree-Law 74/2023, requires, as an essential condition, the informed consent of the convicted person and a regular procedure for evaluation, notification, and judicial oversight. These requirements were not met in either case. Neither Navarro nor Ferrer requested parole. In Ferrer's case, his public and repeated refusal to accept this regime was documented; he was released without his consent and subsequently re-imprisoned for violating conditions he never agreed to.
The actions of the judicial and prison authorities have not only violated the principle of legality but have also disregarded basic due process guarantees. The revocations are based on alleged breaches of obligations that were neither formally imposed, explained, nor accepted by the beneficiaries. In the case of Félix Navarro, the justification for the revocation was that he left the municipality without authorization and abandoned his job. However, he had been verbally authorized to report his absences by telephone. His absences were partly due to his legitimate exercise of religious freedom and visits to his incarcerated daughter. Additionally, his repeated arrests on Sundays for attempting to attend Mass prevented him from fulfilling his work obligations, a situation that was reported to the court. Instead of guaranteeing his rights, the State chose to revoke the benefit granted.
Following the announcement of the releases on January 16, 2025, Cubalex warned that these were not genuine liberations, but rather early releases with severe restrictions and no guarantees. At the time, we denounced the lack of transparency, the selective and arbitrary nature of the process, and the possibility that these measures would be used as a tool for surveillance, blackmail, or political reprisal. Events have confirmed this warning. Conditional release was granted without guaranteeing the minimum legal requirements and revoked punitively, using discretionary criteria that criminalize the legitimate exercise of freedoms such as freedom of expression, religion, and political participation. One could even speak of an exemplary purpose behind these measures, intended to deter people in similar situations from exercising fundamental rights.
The current detention of Navarro and Ferrer, held incommunicado without a court order, without contact with their families, and without timely information regarding their legal status, constitutes a grave act of enforced disappearance, pursuant to Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This act marks the intensification of a sustained pattern of criminalizing dissent, which includes persecution both inside and outside of prison, the arbitrary imposition of unacceptable conditions, and subjection to inhumane conditions of detention as a form of additional punishment.
From Cubalex, we urgently call upon human rights organizations, legal defense networks, international platforms, and diplomatic missions to join this statement and jointly demand the following from the Cuban State:
-The immediate reappearance alive of Félix Navarro and José Daniel Ferrer.
-Official information regarding their legal status, physical integrity, and place of detention.
-Immediate guarantees of access to their lawyers, family members and medical care.
-The suspension of all practices of revoking parole based on discriminatory and unfounded criteria.
-The end of the use of the prison system as an instrument of political punishment.
International negotiation processes cannot continue to legitimize these practices. Releases from prison must be subject to legal guarantees, transparency, and full respect for human rights. Without these elements, what is presented as a humanitarian gesture becomes a legal trap that exposes the beneficiaries and their families to a constant threat of arbitrary detention.
We invite allied organizations to join the advocacy actions we are coordinating to denounce these events before international protection mechanisms.
#JusticeForNavarroAndFerrer
#FinDeLasDesaparicionesForzadas
# Conditional Freedom Without Repression
Cubalex – Legal Information Center
April 30, 2025