"They dragged them out naked, they pulled them by their hair," they denounce abuses against female opponents.

By Tomas Cardoso

Combination of photographs. Above, the Garrido sisters (Angélica and María Cristina) and below, Góngora and a photo of the women's prison.

Miami (RM) – Four women, convicted for their participation in the July 11 popular protests, are being punished for claiming their status as political prisoners and the right to wear white, among other demands, their relatives told Radio Televisión Martí.

They are Lizandra Góngora Espinosa and the sisters María Cristina and Angélica Garrido, the opposition members who started a protest on September 20 at the Western Women's Prison, in El Guatao, La Lisa, which has also been joined by the young Mackyanis Román Rodríguez.

Ángel Delgado, Góngora Espinosa's husband, was able to visit her in prison and recounted: “I found her in very bad shape, nervous. She told me many things that have happened since they decided to stand up for themselves. That day, at the police station where they were being held, they were taken out naked, their hair was pulled, and then she, fearing they would continue pulling her hair, decided to shave her head. The handcuffs were put so tight on her hands that it even caused injuries to her wrists; she still has the marks.”

"They went five days without water or food, and Lizandra is currently in a cell in the prison's infirmary. On visiting day, the prison authorities returned all her white belongings to me. Then, when they brought my wife to me, she told me that wearing white clothing was prohibited in the prison. Therefore, since she refuses to wear the regular prison uniform, she is only wearing underwear," her husband stated.

Meanwhile, Angelica Garrido remains isolated in the Western Women's Prison, her husband Luis Rodriguez said.

“They’ve already moved her from solitary confinement to another isolation cell, which is practically the same thing. The only difference is that now she can receive the food we bring her. She doesn’t want anything to do with the prison. She also refuses to be with the other inmates and is sleeping on a board because she doesn’t have a mattress. And since the use of linens is now prohibited in prison, my wife is wearing underwear and a bra in there,” he explained. In María Cristina’s case, they are keeping her at the National Hospital, on the fifth floor in the Prison Ward, even though she isn’t sick, the political prisoner’s brother-in-law emphasized.

“I was very worried, thinking she might have some health problem because we hadn't seen her, but it turns out her eldest daughter was able to see her and spoke with her for 10 minutes. She told her that she was in good health and that she eats what we bring her. Obviously, this measure is to keep her separate from the others,” Rodríguez reported.

Emilio Román shows a photo of his daughter Macyanis and his son Yosney, both convicted for participating in the 11J protests.

To these three women who have taken refuge, we can now add political prisoner Mackyanis Román Rodríguez, also in the Guatao prison, who was taken to the punishment cell on October 1st.

According to her father, Emilio Román Matos, during his last visit to his daughter last month, the girl told him that the prison authorities had threatened to punish her if she insisted on wearing white.

“They told me she would be isolated for 10 days. When I visited her, she told me that the inmates from the July 11th massacre had been forbidden from wearing white sweaters; that must be why she was punished,” Emilio opined. Góngora Espinosa is serving a 14-year sentence for her participation in the popular protests in Güira de Melena, Artemisa province, and sisters María Cristina and Angélica were sentenced to seven and three years in prison, respectively, for participating in the popular demonstration in Quivicán, Mayabeque.

Mackyani Román Matos was sentenced to 10 years for the alleged crime of sedition after going out into the street during the protests on July 12 in the Havana neighborhood of La Güinera.

Note from the Republican Party.

María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez is the National Executive Director of the Republican Party of Cuba; her sister Angélica and Lisandra Góngora Espinosa are members of the same organization.