Legal proceedings continue for Cuban pastor and Dominican psychiatrist

In Cuba, the defense for Pentecostal pastor Ariel Limias Leiva has requested a change in precautionary measures from the Prosecutor's Office. Limias is currently detained at the Villa Marista State Security headquarters in Havana following a protest on October 2. He was arrested after displaying banners near the National Capitol that read “Down with the dictatorship” and “No more absurd political discrimination.” Authorities are investigating him for “propaganda against the constitutional order,” a charge the NGO Justicia 11J argues criminalizes peaceful expression.

In the Dominican Republic, the Public Ministry has requested preventive detention for a psychiatrist, Nancy Estervina de Jesús. She is accused of complicity in the forced abduction of an engineer during a divorce dispute. Prosecutors allege that De Jesús, acting on orders from Ylsa Emperatriz Quero Cabrera, arrived at a construction company with three individuals to violently subdue the victim, handcuff him, and administer an unknown injection before transporting him to a mental health center.