Cuban historian and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández denounced that she was beaten, dragged across the floor, and handcuffed by police officers during a detention. At the same time, she stated that she faces a prosecutorial request for four years in prison for the crimes of assault, contempt, and disobedience, within a proceeding that also involves sociologist Jenny Pantoja Torres.
The woman shared her account this Friday in a Facebook post, in which she identified officer María Juantorena as one of the agents who took part in the operation. According to her testimony, the police beat her and several male officers dragged her across the floor by grabbing her by the feet.
López stated that, after the assault, she was handcuffed and that the officers twisted her hands to cause her pain. "One of the questions I asked officer María Juantorena, after she brutally beat me, dragged me across the floor pulling me by the feet with the help of several male police officers, and then handcuffed me and twisted my hands to make me feel more pain, was: What difference is there between what you do and what Batista's hitmen did during that dictatorship?" she wrote.
The Prosecutor's Office considered the word "hitmen" offensive
According to López, the term she used to refer to the officers now appears as one of the issues raised by the Prosecutor's Office in the conclusions presented before the Municipal Court of M…
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The Cuban historian and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández denounced that she was beaten, dragged along the ground, and handcuffed by police officers during a detention. At the same time, she stated that she faces a prosecutorial request for four years in prison for the crimes of assault, contempt, and disobedience, in a process that also involves sociologist Jenny Pantoja Torres.
The woman shared her account this Friday in a Facebook post, in which she identified officer María Juantorena as one of the agents who took part in the operation. According to her testimony, the police beat her and several male officers dragged her along the floor by grabbing her by the feet. López stated that, after the assault, she was handcuffed and that the officers twisted her hands to cause her pain.
"One of the questions I asked officer María Juantorena, after she brutally beat me, dragged me along the ground pulling me by the feet with the help of several male police officers, and then handcuffed me and twisted my hands so that I would feel more pain, was: What difference is there between what you do and what Batista's hitmen did during that dictatorship?," she wrote.
The historian Alina Bárbara López denounces that police agents beat and dragged her during her detention. (Courtesy: Social media)
According to López, the term she used to refer to the officers now appears as one of the issues raised by the Prosecutor's Office in the conclusions presented before the Municipal Court of Matanzas. The activist asserted that the prosecutor considered it offensive that she had called the police "hitmen."
"The prosecutor considers the term 'hitmen' an offense in her final conclusions presented to the Municipal Court of Matanzas," López noted.
The case originates from the detention of López and Pantoja on June 18, 2024, when both were heading to Havana to participate in a peaceful protest. The two were charged with assault, contempt, and disobedience, while the Prosecutor's Office requested four years in prison for the historian and three for Pantoja.
The academic has been holding monthly protests since March 2023 at the Parque de la Libertad in Matanzas to demand an amnesty for political prisoners. (Courtesy: Social media)
López questioned that the criminal process focuses on her expressions and on the conduct attributed to the protesters, without investigating the actions of the denounced officers.
"Our case is just one of the many examples of the brutality and torture that we citizens suffer in this repressive system in which the word 'rights' is subversive," she stated.
According to PEN International, López continues to be subjected to judicial harassment since her arrest in June 2024. The organization indicated that the case file was referred to trial in May 2025 and that the academic remained under movement restrictions, surveillance, and threats of new detentions.
Reports from independent Cuban media indicate that the trial was scheduled for January 30, 2026, but was suspended without a new date. The case remains open and the request for a conviction stands.
López, who holds a doctorate in Philosophical Sciences and is a researcher at Ediciones Matanzas, has organized a monthly protest at the Parque de la Libertad in Matanzas since March 2023. In those gatherings, the release of political prisoners, an amnesty, and guarantees for the exercise of civil rights are demanded.
The Prosecutor's Office requested four years in prison for López Hernández and three for sociologist Jenny Pantoja for alleged crimes of assault and contempt. (EFE/ Ernesto Mastrascusa)
During 2026, she was detained on several occasions when she tried to hold that protest, according to available reports. The activist maintains that those detentions are part of a pattern intended to prevent her public demonstrations.
The case occurs amid complaints from international organizations about arbitrary detentions, surveillance, and criminal proceedings against critics of the Cuban government. Amnesty International stated that during 2026 the repression of dissent and peaceful protests persisted, as well as restrictions on activists and human rights defenders.