Human Rights Watch denounces arrests and systematic abuses against protesters in Cuba

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Cuban government of systematically carrying out arbitrary arrests, mistreatment of detainees, and abusive trials, in retaliation for the peaceful protests of July 11.

“When thousands of Cubans took to the streets in July, the government responded by deploying a brutal strategy of repression aimed at instilling fear among the population and suppressing dissent.“, wrote Juan Pappier, HRW Researcher for the Americas, in the latest report from the US-based organization.

Authorities detained more than 1,000 people during that crackdown, of which more than 500 are still incarcerated and many others are under house arrest, HRW said, citing the Cuban NGO. Cubalex.

“For the regime, the goal has been for fear to outweigh the despair of the people”, He stated Pappier.

Peaceful protesters and other critics have been detained, held incommunicado, and tried in sham proceedings, HRW said.

The report’s authors documented in detail human rights violations against 130 people in 13 of Cuba’s 15 provinces, as well as in Isla de la Juventud, a special municipality.

In most of these cases, the victims were repeatedly questioned.

Some of the detainees were deprived of sleep and beaten. Others were threatened with retaliation against themselves or their families for protesting, the report added.

Gabriela Zequeira Hernandez, a 17-year-old student, told HRW that she was detained in San Miguel de Padrón, in the province of Havana, when she was passing near a demonstration on July 11.

According to her, after her arrest, two female officers forced her to do five squats naked while coughing and pressing herself on her stomach. One of them ordered her to inspect her own vagina with her finger.

Between July and October, HRW interviewed more than 150 people, including activists, victims, family members and lawyers with direct knowledge of the cases. The organization also consulted court documents and corroborated numerous videos and photos.

On July 11, thousands of citizens took to the streets of some 50 cities in Cuba shouting “we are hungry” and “Liberty”. Those protests, unprecedented since the 1959 revolution, left at least one dead and dozens injured.

The opponents plan to take to the streets again on November 15, despite the ban by the island authorities. “Then it will be seen if the fear strategy of the regime worked”Pappier added.