Cuba: Tactics of repression must not be repeated | Amnesty International

Following a new wave of island-wide protests in Cuba over the past several days, there are worrying indicators that the authorities are repeating the repressive tactics they used for decades and also during the crackdown on protesters on 11 July last year, said Amnesty International today.

“In the latest wave of protests that have lasted several days, Cubans are exercising their simple but historically repressed rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“The international community must condemn the cycles of repression we are seeing in Cuba in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable for authorities to keep intimidating, threatening, detaining, stigmatizing, and attempting to silence anyone who demands necessities like electricity, food, and freedom.”

Since the start of protests in late September, Amnesty International has received reports of on-going internet interference, deployment of police and military, including cadets, to repress the protests, and arbitrary detentions.

Starting on the evening of 29 September, the Cuban authorities appear to have intentionally shut down internet access throughout the country. The internet outage lasted for at least two consecutive nights.

Cuban authorities control the country’s only telecommunication network and have often restricted internet access during politically sensitive times or moments of protests.

Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International has heard that the latest internet outages have made it hard for families to communicate following the passage of hurricane Ian, at a time when many people have had their homes damaged. They have also impacted the ability of independent human rights observers, including Amnesty International, and independent journalists to document the human rights situation in the country. Journalist Luz Escobar told Amnesty International that her internet was cut three nights in a row, impacting her ability to work, and that as of 4 October, several other journalists working at her independent online newspaper, 14 y medio, were without internet.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab has also analysed several videos that did not appear online before these protests. One video which Amnesty International analysed was filmed on Street 41, at the corner of 66 in Havana, Cuba, and appears to show the deployment of plain-clothed military cadets, armed with baseball bats, chanting pro-government slogans, including “I am Fidel.”

Another video, which also first appeared online in the context of the protests, and which is consistent with other videos Amnesty International has verified from the protests, appears to also show cadets with baseball bats chasing and then detaining protesters.

The Cuban authorities have developed a sophisticated machinery for controlling any form of dissent and protest, as previously documented by Amnesty International. While state security officials often carry out surveillance and arbitrary detentions of critics, the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (local members of the Communist Party who collaborate with state officials and law enforcement agencies) also provide the state with information about, what is considered,  “counter-revolutionary activity.” “Acts of repudiation” – demonstrations led by government supporters with the alleged participation of state security officials – are also commonplace and aimed at harassing and intimidating government critics.

While communication with Cuba remains stunted due to internet interference, Justicia J11, a group established following the crackdown on protesters in July 2021 – has reported 26 detentions since 30 September, mostly of young people and artists, 19 of whom they reported remained in detention as of 4 October 2022.

Cuban authorities criminalized nearly all those who participated in the protests in July 2021, including some children, but flatly denied any human rights violations, and placed the blame for the economic situation almost exclusively on the US economic embargo. Similarly, on 2 October 2022, President Díaz-Canel downplayed the widespread nature of the latest protests and suggested that a minority of “counter-revolutionaries” with connections outside Cuba, had carried out “acts of vandalism such as blocking roads or throwing rocks” and would be dealt with with the “force of the law.”

Background

Following the passage of hurricane Ian, the electricity has been cut in multiple parts of the island, adding to the frequent electricity outages in recent months. NASA night-time light data showed a significant decrease in lights between 23 September, before the passing of Ian, and after, on 30 September.

Electricity outages have exacerbated violations of economic and social rights in the country, as in recent months Cubans have had to line up for many hours to buy food and other necessities, in the context of widespread food shortages.

The recent protests have occurred just 14 months after the similar widespread protests on 11 July 2021, which were followed by a crackdown on dissent. Hundreds remain imprisoned for the 11 July protests, including three prisoners of conscience: artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez, as well as leader of the non-official opposition, José Daniel Ferrer García. Other prisoners of conscience named by Amnesty International at the time were released on the condition of going into exile.

The post Cuba: Tactics of repression must not be repeated appeared first on Amnesty International.

Skip The Scoop | Seek Understanding

Montana Gov. Gianforte Signs Law Prohibiting Federal Ban on Gun Ownership

Show Me

Smithsonian museums, National Zoo announce reopening dates

Show Me

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: FBI Finally Releases Records on Murdered DNC Analyst Seth Rich – Via Attorney Ty Clevenger

Show Me

Outrage after professor displays ‘juicy’ bones of black child killed in 1985 police bomb at lecture

Show Me

So Many Americans Look Around and Know | We Are Still At War With The Greatest Enemies of Freedom | Video: 2 Minutes 51 Seconds

Show Me

New York posts major increases in rape cases, sharply up from last year’s lockdown lows

Show Me

MLB Survey Asks Fans if They’re Republicans or Democrats

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room |Saturday Edition Hour 1 | Recorded April 24, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 45 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room |Saturday Edition Hour 2 | Recorded April 24, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 45 Seconds

Show Me

Ghislaine Maxwell pleads NOT GUILTY to two more counts of sex trafficking

Show Me

(READ) Trump statement on Arizona election recount

Show Me

Feds Charge Southern Illinois U. Prof with Grant Fraud over Secret Ties to China

Show Me

Rumble CEO says alternative video platform has huge growth, as users ‘fed up’ with big tech

Show Me

‘What Are They Hiding?’: Democrats Try Last Attempt to Block AZ Election Audit & Cave In When Judge Asks For Million Dollar Bond

Show Me

US drop in vaccine demand has some places turning down doses

Show Me

Indian hospitals plead for oxygen as country sets daily coronavirus record

Show Me

Soros Makes First Contributions of 2022 Cycle

Show Me

What Happened to $16 Million Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office Received Before the 2020 Election?

Show Me

SpaceX Rocketship Launches 4 Astronauts on NASA Mission to Space Station

Show Me

My, Oh, My. Some More Big Tech Pedophilia | “New Jersey man charged with sharing child porn through Facebook chat”

Show Me

Ron Johnson questions ‘big push’ to vaccinate ‘everybody’

Show Me

SURVEY: 85% Disbelieve Allegations Against Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Show Me

One Time FBI Informant, Al Sharpton, States: ‘We Are Seeing the Absolute Time that Policing Must Be Defined by the Federal Government’

Show Me

Norway’s Institute of Public Health Says, “Everyone in Norway will be at greater risk of disease and death by choosing the AstraZeneca vaccine than waiting for another”

Show Me

VIRGINIA: Attorney Who Helped Trump Fight 2020 Election In Court Announces Run For State Legislature

Show Me

Texas Sues Biden Administration for Allegedly Disregarding COVID-19 Rules at Border

Show Me

8-Year-Old Saves Sister Choking on Chicken Nugget Using Tip From John Cena

Show Me

Behind Bitcoin’s Recent Slide: Imploding Bets, Forced Liquidations

Show Me

Judicial Watch Fights Hard Left “Critical Race Theory”

Show Me

Joe Biden Masks Up for Zoom Call with 16 Other World Leaders. He’s the Only One.

Show Me

Russia: Activists detained under absurd “sanitary” charges for social media posts in support of public protest

Show Me

President Macron vows to ‘never give up the fight against Islamist terorrism’ after knifeman screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ stabs woman to death before being shot dead by cops at French police station

Show Me

‘I Am Nonviolent’: Maxine Waters Defends Call For Protesters To ‘Get More Confrontational’

Show Me

African Activists: The Earth Is in Peril If Wealthy Nations Don’t Slash Emissions & Pay Climate Debt

Show Me

Caitlyn Jenner files to run for governor, done with one-party rule: This is not Gavin Newsom’s California

Show Me

April 23, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 51 Minutes 28 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded April 23, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 58 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded April 23, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 54 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded April 23, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 30 Seconds

Show Me

Bannon’s War Room |Evening Edition Hour 2 | Recorded April 23, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 58 Seconds

Show Me