LONDON – Amnesty International says harassment of human rights activists and independent journalists in Cuba has risen sharply over the past two years and authorities are using new repressive measures to silence dissent.
Citing figures from the illegal but tolerated Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, the London-based rights group said in a report released Thursday that there were 2,784 rights-abuse incidents in the first nine months of 2011, 710 more than in all of 2010.AI also said that more than 65 independent journalists have been detained since March 2011, most of them on more than one occasion.
Gerardo Ducos, AI’s Cuba researcher, said repression on the Communist-ruled island is “as strong as ever,” although the “tactics have changed.”
He explained that after the mass release in 2011 of dozens of government opponents rounded up in the 2003 Black Spring crackdown, authorities have been “sharpening their strategy to silence dissent by harassing activists and journalists with short-term detentions and public acts of repudiation.”
Amnesty said Cuban authorities do not tolerate any criticism of government policy and that laws on the books against “public disorder, contempt, disrespect and aggression” are used to prosecute dissidents.
The London-based group said no political or human rights organizations in Cuba are able to obtain legal status.
The report, titled “Routine Repression: Political Short-Term Detentions and Harassment in Cuba,” said detained rights activists and independent journalists are typically held at police stations or detention centers from a few hours to several days.
The detainees are frequently subjected to interrogations, intimidation, threats and, in some cases, beatings, according to AI, which added that authorities in many cases do not inform their family members of the reasons for the detention or where they are being held.
Activists Antonio Michel and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz have been behind bars since Dec. 25, 2010, when they were arrested for singing songs criticizing the lack of freedom expression on the island, the report said.
After a summary trial in May 2011, they were sentenced to two and three years in prison, respectively, for “insulting symbols of the homeland” and “public disorder.”
AI said it has adopted the two brothers – one of whom is suffering from prostate problems and is reportedly not receiving adequate medical treatment – as prisoners of conscience and is demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
The report on repression in Cuba also highlighted the case of journalist Jose Alberto Alvarez Bravo, who was arrested 15 times between April and October 2011, or an average of twice a month.
“Cuba has seen worsening repression when it comes to human rights. What we want to see happening is for activists to be able to carry out their legitimate work without the fear of reprisals,” Ducos said. EFE
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