Leonel Grave de Peralta

Grave de Peralta was imprisoned in 2003 within the Kilo 5½ Prison in Pinar del Río during the Black Spring. He has been declared as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.^[3] Before his imprisonment, he was a multitasking threat to the Castro dictatorship. As a member of the Christian Liberation Movement, Grave de Peralta collected over 100 signatures for the Varela Project's pro-democracy campaign. He had a circulation record of over 700 book loans despite restrictions on independent libraries.^[1] During his time as a prisoner of conscience, he was subjected to ill-treatment such as extended periods of solitary confinement and incarcerating in prisons located at extreme distances from his home, breaking many Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.^[3] He received assistance from Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart while incarcerated, who petitioned for his release along with the other political prisoners.^[4]

He was released in 2010 after serving over seven years of a twenty-year sentence as part of a deal struck with the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship to take exile within Madrid.^[5] After spending a year in Madrid, he moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he plans to stay until Cuba receives the freedom he initially had fought for: freedom to learn, freedom to worship, freedom to enjoy their inalienable human rights.^[4]

• "Leonel Grave de Peralta Almenares". Human Rights First. Archived from the original on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
• Profile at Payolibre.com

This biographical article about a Cuban activist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e