Chairman Sires Reiterates His Call for the Release of Political Prisoners in Cuba

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration, and International Economic Policy issued the following statement on political prisoners in Cuba:

“While the world’s attention has shifted elsewhere, the Cuban people continue to suffer under one of the world’s most repressive dictatorships. Over four hundred Cubans remain arbitrarily imprisoned by the Castro/Díaz-Canel dictatorship. More than 5,000 people were detained in the wake of the July protests. Their only crime was peacefully exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly. But intaking the streets of dozens of cities to call for an end to the dictatorship, they shattered the last remnants of the regime’s illusion of an island utopia.

“The Cuban people deserve our continued and unwavering support. I applaud the recent passage of a resolution by the European parliament that condemned the regime’s repression of protesters on July 11^th. This is an important step toward demonstrating that the international community will stand together in denouncing the dictatorship’s egregious human rights record and will not give up until the Cuban people are free.”

###

Stay informed and connected:

Twitter: @RepSires | Facebook: @RepAlbioSires