Bahamas will process political asylum for the July 11 protester in Cuba Marco Antonio Alfonso Bretoa young man who was convicted of sedition following the anti-government protests of 2021.
The journalist Monica Baró reported on his page Facebook that “the July 11 protester in La Güinera, currently imprisoned in The Bahamas, has been officially accepted as an applicant for political asylum in that country.”
This will prevent the 21-year-old from being deported to Cuba when he is released at the end of January, until his case is resolved.
Several activists had organized a fundraising to pay for a lawyer to defend Alfonso Breto before the Bahamas authorities.
The lawyer said this Friday that the young man’s case is under examination by the immigration department and the United Nations Refugee Agency and that while this examination and evaluation is ongoing, he cannot be deported to his country.
In 2021, Alfonso Breto was sentenced for sedition before a Cuban court, where he was asked for nine years in prison, which was later replaced by five years of correctional work with internment, Baró explained.
During a pass in November 2022, Marco escaped and remained hidden in Cuba until in March 2023 he managed to leave the country by sea towards the United States in a clandestine boat.
However, the raft never arrived and ended up in Bahamas arresteddetailed the activist.
“In the Bahamas, when he was told that he would be deported to Cuba, Marco once again fled and spent a month in hiding, until he was found and imprisoned in maximum security. This month he is due to be released, but as an applicant asylum will not be deported,” he added.
Baró states in his post that “Marco is like a living tribute to the Cuban maroons,” and calls for supporting the release of political prisoners as a way to “also support Marco’s fight to be free.”
“His escape is nothing more than proof of the conviction of his innocence and the unfairness of the prison they imposed on him. Let’s help this case reach all the places and people who can.” push for Marco to receive shelter in any democratic country,” the activist requested.
In a letter sent last year to his little sister Marco Antonio, he said: “I know that I am not there by your side to take care of you from the bad things in life (…) but I still haven’t given up.”
