Religious freedom advocates are celebrating after Cuban authorities decided to release a Christian mother from jail.
Expósito Leyva was imprisoned along with her husband, Pastor Ramon Rigal, last April after refusing to send her children to a government-run school.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the couple had opted to homeschool the children in order to avoid them being indoctrinated with socialist and atheistic ideologies.
They were subsequently charged with “acts against the normal development of a minor,” put on trial and ultimately jailed, spending 11 months behind bars. Now, finally, she is free.
“While we welcome the release of Expósito and are particularly relieved that she can be reunited with her children, we believe that she should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” USCIRF Commissioner and civil rights lawyer Anurima Bhargava said in a statement.
“The charges brought against her and her husband are part of the Cuban government’s harassment, discrimination, and arbitrary detention of individuals simply seeking to practice their religion.”
Speaking to CBN News, Bhargava said she hoped the release “indicates something that is positive” with regards to the Cuban government recognizing that imprisoning a parent simply because they decided to personally educate their child is “not…
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