News · Rights
Arévalo brothers held for four months without trial after protesting against blackouts, group says
The Centre for the Documentation of Cuban Prisons warns that Yoan and Yosvan Arévalo Álvarez, arrested in June after a protest in the Havana neighbourhood of Barbosa, still have no charges or trial date and that their health is deteriorating.
Brothers Yoan and Yosvan Arévalo Álvarez have been held for more than four months in Havana prisons with no prosecution request and no trial date, according to the Centre for the Documentation of Cuban Prisons (CDPC), which raised the alarm over the lack of information about Yoan and the deteriorating health of both men. They were arrested on June 18, 2026, after taking part in a peaceful demonstration in the Barbosa neighbourhood of Playa district, which followed more than 30 hours without electricity in the area.
Yoan, the elder brother, was transferred to the Combinado del Este prison. His mother, Estrella Álvarez, told ADN Cuba that she has had no news of him since October 7 and that prison authorities also refused the food she brought on an attempted visit. The family says he underwent open-heart surgery, is missing a lung and needs specialist care; in September, relatives reported that he was vomiting and passing blood without receiving, according to that account, the necessary medicines.
The younger brother, Yosvan, 36, is held at the Toledo I camp, also in Havana. According to the CDPC, he is progressively losing his sight: his mother says he can no longer see at night and that the difficulty increases by the day. He had congenital vision problems before his imprisonment, according to the family's account, and has not had access to the specialist care he requires.
ADN Cuba reported on November 4 that Yoan had been moved from the Jóvenes del Cotorro prison, known as Ivanov, to Combinado del Este, and linked the transfer to a protest sign he is said to have put up inside the jail. The family also said he was beaten during the arrest.
The CDPC asked the Cuban government to guarantee the life, health and physical integrity of the two brothers, to let their relatives know their situation and to allow them to deliver food. The United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules state that health care in prison must meet a standard equivalent to that available outside detention centres.
Sources: Infobae
Data updated: 2026-11-07T04:15:00.000Z