After ten days of a hunger strike sparked by Cuban prison authorities' refusal to grant him an interview, the physical condition of Professor Pedro Albert Sánchez is causing alarm among Cuban activists and his family. They fear the situation could escalate to a more tragic level. "In prison, Pedro's condition has worsened, and we don't want a dead Pedro; we want him just as he was when they kidnapped him," said his wife, Ana Elvis Amaya Leyva, in a live Facebook broadcast.
Amaya Leyva recounted her visit to the 1580 prison in San Miguel del Padrón, where she learned that "Pedro decided not to eat because he wants to talk, to dialogue with the regime, and they have turned their backs on him." She mentioned that the family has resolved that if the regime does not return Pedro as they detained him, they should keep his body. "They will keep the body because his ideals are with us," she asserted.
"The family is pained, but Pedro made that choice, and they should be careful about giving him an IV," she warned. According to her, the attending officer mentioned that if Pedro's condition deteriorates, they would take him to the doctor and administer an IV. Amaya Leyva cautioned against this, threatening not to attribute his death to natural causes if he dies in prison, as she believes the regime is slowly killing him. "If Pedro dies in prison, it's on you," she had earlier warned on Martí Noticias.
The academic Alina Bárbara López Hernández has also joined in voicing concerns over Albert Sánchez's fragile health condition. In January 2023, the Cuban professor was sentenced to five years of restricted freedom by the Diez de Octubre Municipal People's Court, in relation to his involvement in the July 11, 2021 protests. He faced charges of alleged public disorder and disrespect, which resulted in a sentence of "five years of deprivation of liberty, replaced by limitation of freedom for the same period."
Nonetheless, he was apprehended by State Security in November during the visit of the European Union's Human Rights Rapporteur, Eamon Gilmore, to Cuba. At that time, the political prisoner and cancer patient was isolated, prompting him to declare a hunger strike.
Family's Plea for Medical Care
On Father's Day in Cuba, his son, Pedro Antonio Albert, accused the island's regime of letting his father die by denying him medical care and essential medications. Pedro Antonio decided to "file a formal complaint" to make the world aware of the plight of the political prisoner held at 1580 prison in San Miguel del Padrón. He accused State Security of attempting to kill his father by depriving him of all necessary medical attention and treatment, crucial due to the torture and mistreatment he has endured there.
Human rights organization Amnesty International has declared the professor a prisoner of conscience and urged President Miguel Díaz-Canel to release him "immediately and unconditionally."