Cuban Justice Summons 3-Year-Old Girl to Testify: Mother Denounces Intimidation Tactics

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Title: Cuban Regime Summons 3-Year-Old Girl to Testify, Sparking Outrage

Subtitle: Political prisoner’s daughter ordered to appear before Cuban justice

Date: [Date]

The Cuban regime has once again shocked the world with its relentless persecution. In an unprecedented move, the dictatorship of Miguel Díaz-Canel summoned a 3-year-old girl, Leadi Kataleya Naranjo Rillos, to testify as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissidents. Leadi is the daughter of political prisoner Idael Naranjo Pérez. The summons, received by Leadi’s paternal grandmother, has sparked outrage both in Cuba and internationally.

“I have the summons in hand, at first I thought it was a mistake. What are they going to ask? What does she have to talk if she is a girl? If she does not appear, there would be a fine and they threaten to accuse her of disobedience,” expressed Yunisleydis Rillos Pao, the mother of Leadi, to Infobae.

The misguided summons, with incorrect name and missing surname, indicated it was intended for the young girl. Leadi and her grandmother have been ordered to appear at the Capri police station in Havana on Tuesday, August 8, at 2:30 p.m. local time.

Yunisleydis Rillos Pao, aged 30, made it clear that she would not subject her daughter to such an experience. “I am going to leave the girl in the circle [a state school], and I am going to go in her name with my mother, because they also sent a summons to my mother. I’m going to go with the girl’s summons to see what the problem is, because I’m not going to confront my daughter with any of that.”

This incident marks the first time that Leadi’s family has received a judicial summons. The mother believes it is yet another intimidation tactic employed by the regime to silence dissent. “They are wrong. We only demand the freedom of our innocents. And it’s no use being intimidated,” she remarked.

Yunisleydis also revealed that she is regularly monitored by agents of the regime’s security forces. This increased scrutiny has caused fear and panic among her family members.

In response to the summons, the NGO Prisoners Defenders, based in Madrid, denounced the case on social media. “What kind of crazy people are in charge in Cuba? What do they mean by citing and threatening a 3-year-old girl?” they questioned.

The organization strongly advises that Leadi should not attend the summons, stating, “She cannot go to that ignominious summons. To hear what? To answer what? The topic sucks.”

Prisoners Defenders also highlighted the various human rights abuses committed by the Cuban regime, including the forced separation of children from their mothers as a punitive measure. This was done to punish mothers who refused to participate in Cuba’s mandatory overseas medical missions.

Idael Naranjo Pérez, Leadi’s father, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for “sedition” due to his participation in the historic mobilization on July 11, 2021. Despite being incarcerated, Idael has remained resilient, staging protests and hunger strikes against the regime’s oppressive policies. Conversations with his family are heavily monitored by the regime’s police.

This latest incident has once again shed light on the repressive tactics employed by the Cuban regime, sparking global outrage and calls for the immediate release of political prisoners and the respect of human rights.

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Note: The article includes excerpts from an interview with Yunisleydis Rillos Pao conducted by Infobae.