A Cuban couple held at an immigration detention center in Russia’s Voronezh region say they have been unable to reunite with their daughter for more than a month since her birth in September. The father, Darian Pompa Carrillo, told journalist Artyom Neumann that his wife was returned to detention after giving birth, while the baby remained in hospital.
According to Darian, Leisy Perez Pol went into labor on September 25 and underwent a cesarean section. The couple said they had been promised that the baby would be brought to them the following week, but this had not happened by the time of the interview. They say they do not understand why their daughter remains in hospital.
The couple arrived in Russia as tourists about a year ago. They say expensive return flights prevented them from leaving before their permitted stay expired. Darian took a construction job without the required work authorization, and he and his pregnant wife were later placed in immigration detention.
Darian also described difficult living conditions and a language barrier: neither spouse speaks Russian and, he says, they were not provided with an interpreter and sometimes signed documents they did not understand. Russian law provides a right to interpretation for participants in administrative proceedings who do not speak the language used.