Duannis Dabel LEÓN TABUADA

In 2025, poet Duannis Dabel León Taboada, was serving a 14-year prison sentence in Combinado del Este prison in Havana, imposed after he was convicted on 27 May 2022 by the People’s Supreme Court of ‘sedition’. He had been arrested on 16 July 2021 in relation to his participation in the 11 July 2021 protests (#11J) and held in the 100 y Aldabó detention centre for three weeks.  

According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), León Tabuada has reportedly been repeatedly subjected to torture or other ill-treatment in prison. He is also said to suffer from numerous pre-existing health issues such as chronic high blood pressure, polycythaemia, and congenital kidney disease, while his mental health has deteriorated while in detention. On 18 July 2025, Leon Taboada began a 12-day hunger strike to protest the conditions of his imprisonment and to demand justice and freedom. During the first few days, his mother, Yenisey Taboada, an outspoken defender of the rights of prisoners in Cuba, faced difficulties obtaining information and access to her son. After persistent efforts, she was finally allowed to speak with her son by phone. He sounded weak but unwavering in his demand: ‘I want my freedom, mom. This is for all the protesters and for the mothers who continue to suffer.‘ 

Leon Taboada, born1998, is a poet and activist. His tetralogy ‘Despertar,‘ part of the unpublished compilation The Prisoner Who Walks at Night, is currently being edited by Veril Editions, part of the Cultural Rights Observatory (Observatorio de Derechos Culturales). 

Update 

On 19 January 2026, the IACHR adopted precautionary measures on behalf of Duannis Dabel León Taboada and his mother Yenisey Taboada Ortíz, recognizing that their rights to life, personal integrity, and health are at risk of irreparable harm.