The Government cannot assist the Spaniard imprisoned in Cuba for sedition because he also has Cuban nationality

Mario Josué Prieto was sentenced to 12 years in prison after participating in the anti-government demonstrations in July 2021

MADRID, 27 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government has clarified that it cannot provide assistance to Mario Josué Prieto, a young Spaniard imprisoned in Cuba for participating in the 2021 anti-government demonstrations on the island and accused of sedition, since he also continues to have Cuban nationality.

This has been indicated in a parliamentary response, to which Europa Press has had access, after the PP was interested in this case and for the support that the Government is giving him after the request for help from his parents, who They sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in September.

Foreign Affairs explained that both the Embassy and the Consulate General in Havana "have been following the case" and have taken steps with the Cuban authorities "to alleviate their prison situation."

However, they have clarified that since Prieto also holds Cuban citizenship "it is not possible to provide the usual assistance to the detainee" that is normally provided in the cases of Spaniards imprisoned abroad.

In his case, the reason is none other than article 36 of the Cuban Constitution, which states that "Cuban citizens, while they are in national territory (...) cannot use a foreign nationality," he explained. Foreign in the answer.

However, he has assured that the Embassy in Havana "is in contact with the family" of Prieto. The young man, who lived in the United States, was trapped on the island during a visit to his family due to the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

On July 11, 2021, he participated in an anti-government demonstration in Holguín and was arrested, although he was released two days later, only to be arrested again on July 23. Subsequently, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sedition.

In September, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) sent the government a legal report on the situation of Mario Josué Prieto, whom it defines as a "political prisoner." According to this body, which has analyzed the sentence against him, the crime of sedition of which he is accused was never proven and the principle or guarantee that people should be tried by a natural judge and not by courts was not respected. or emergency rooms, as well as the personal circumstances and health of the detainee were not taken into account.

In the opinion of the OCDH, the fact that the Cuban authorities are applying the "principle of effective citizenship does not prevent the Spanish authorities from intervening" in this case, given that "obvious legal errors have been made and it is a serious and humanitarian, with danger to the life of the Spanish citizen". Thus, he maintained that "pressure from Spain could be decisive in obtaining his release."

The observatory then warned that Prieto is a psychiatric patient and had made two suicide attempts. To these would have been added one more last week, when he tried to commit suicide in the hospital where he is being held in Holguín due to the health problems he has presented since his entry into prison, according to what his mother told 'Libertad Digital' .