Lisdiani and Dani Rodríguez Isaac

Lisdiani and Dani Rodríguez Isaac are twin sisters who were arrested in July 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison for their participation in a peaceful protest.

Prior to their arrest, the two sisters worked as teaching assistants in Placetas, a village in central Cuba approximately 200 miles east of Havana. Both Lisdiani and Dani practiced Santería, a syncretic religion from Cuba that incorporates elements of Catholicism with the religion of the Yoruba people from West Africa. An estimated 70 percent of Cuba’s 11 million people perform some type of Afro-Cuban practice, including many of the country’s Catholics. Despite the religion’s prevalence, the Cuban government frequently violates the freedom of religion or belief of independent Santería communities in a range of ways, including ongoing harassment. One unregistered Santería community that was a frequent government target was Free Yorubas, which included both sisters as members.

On July 11, 2021, a series of widespread protests began in Cuba, targeted at the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of food and medicine. Lisdiani, Dani, and their mother, Barbarita Isaac along with approximately half of the residents of Placetas, also joined the protests.  Lisdiani and Dani joined a large group of peaceful protestors chanting slogans voicing their frustration with the living conditions in Cuba. After some time, officers of the Ministry of Interior were deployed to dispel protestors, at which point, Lisdiani and Dani left the protests.

Three days later, Lisdiani and Dani were summoned to the Placetas police station. Upon arriving they were detained and each charged with public disorder, contempt and two counts of assault for their participation in the protests. The two sisters immediately denounced the charges, asserting that, although they were present at the protests, their behavior was peaceful and they did not attack anyone.

Lisdiani and Dani were tried alongside 14 other defendants from Placetas who participated in the July 11 protests.  The 16 defendants mostly faced similar charges related to public disorder, attacking, and contempt. Of the 16 co-defendants, four were members of the Free Yorubas, including both the President and Vice-President of the group.

At trial, the government alleged that Lisdiani and Dani, along with the other demonstrators, pulled away two officers of the Ministry of the Interior who were trying to detain an opposition group. They also allegedly assaulted a government supporter and a counter-intelligence officer. Eyewitnesses refuted these accounts, and the Government failed to present any physical evidence of injuries to sustain the allegations of violence. Ignoring this defense, the court sentenced Lisdiani and Dani to eight years in prison. They were then transferred to Guamajal Prison to serve their sentences.

In late January 2024, Dani learned that she was pregnant following a conjugal visit with her partner at the end of 2023. After an initial medical visit diagnosing the pregnancy, prison officials at Guamajal Prison failed to provide pre-natal medical care or other accommodation for her pregnancy. On May 28, 2024, authorities granted Dani conditional release from prison for a period of one year, allowing her to carry her pregnancy to term outside of prison.  Dani gave birth in September 2024. The terms of Dani’s temporary release order extended until May 25, 2025, at which point she would have been legally obligated to return to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.

On January 15, 2025, Lisdiani and Dani were released from prison as part of mass amnesty for 553 prisoners.