Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: October 3, 2020
‘The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.’ – Zephaniah 3:17
This year we may be in lockdown, but it seems that we’ve seen more prisoners released than ever before! God is reminding us that he is with us – with all those for whom we work. That he is the Mighty Warrior who saves – who saves all those for whom we work.
On 4 September Roberto Quiñones Haces, a Cuban journalist and lawyer, was released from prison after spending nearly a year behind bars for his work reporting on the trial of Cuban pastors Ramón Rigal and Adya Expósito Leyva.
With Mr Quiñones Haces’s release confirmed, we can now report that Ramón Rigal was also released from prison earlier this year in June. Both Ramón and Adya were imprisoned for removing their children, Ruth and Joel, from the state-run school system due to teacher-led bullying. The news could not be shared until Mr Quiñones Haces’s release due to concerns about repercussions.
Mr Quiñones Haces, 63, was imprisoned on 11 September 2019 on charges of ‘disobedience’ and ‘resistance’ because of his work as an independent journalist.
Adya was released on 29 March 2020, after serving over 11 months of an 18-month sentence, and then her husband Ramón was released on 25 June after serving 14 months of a two-year sentence. For much of his imprisonment, Ramón was placed in a maximum-security unit where he was denied conditional freedom and was permitted only one visit per month.
In summary, please pray:
- Thank God for the release from prison of Mr Quiñones Haces, a Cuban independent journalist.
- Pray that the authorities will allow him to continue his work, and he will face no further repercussions for reporting the truth.
- Praise God that Ramón Rigal and Adya Expósito Leyva are also now free, and pray that Ruth and Joel will be able to continue their studies at home, free from harassment and bullying.