With the mass protests that took place in communist Cuba during the march, the total number of documented political prisoners on the island has increased to 1,092. The Castro dictatorship continues to show the world it has no intention of changing the brutally oppressive nature that has marked its reign of terror on the island for the past 65 years. This is socialism in action.
Number of political prisoners in Cuba increases after protests in March: The number is now 1,092
The number of political prisoners in Cuba increased to 1,092 after the anti-government protests that occurred in March, when Cubans in several cities took to the streets to demand electricity and food.
According to the non-governmental organization Prisoners Defenders, 24 people were added to the list of political prisoners last month, bringing the total number to 1,092.
The largest number of political prisoners from the March protests are in Santiago de Cuba (11) and Holguín (8). One person each was imprisoned in Artemisa, Cienfuegos, Havana, Las Tunas, and Sancti Spíritus for the same reason.
The organization reports that 11 of these political prisoners were detained in protests between March 8 and 16; the remaining 13 political prisoners correspond to the demonstrations on March 17 and 18.
“Three years later (after the protests of July 11), the people have once again taken to the streets massively to express their rejection of the regime and demand freedom, despite knowing that the authorities uses repression and imprisonment to punish any citizen demonstration. And that’s how the regime has reacted again. During the past month of March, 24 Cuban citizens have been added to Prisoners Defenders’ list of political prisoners after participating in peaceful demonstrations that mainly took place in the east of the country,” the report stated.
The 1,092 Cubans imprisoned for political reasons do not have judicial supervision in their sentences or restrictions on their freedom imposed by the prosecutors. They also do not have due process or effective defense, which violates international law, the NGO pointed out.
The figure for the past year exposes the persecution and repression suffered by Cubans for exercising their right to protest against the government: in one year, 191 new political prisoners have been registered, averaging 16 each month.
About 30 prisoners on the list were arrested when they were minors: 29 boys and 1 girl, totaling 30 minors; of these, 28 are still serving sentences and two are still in criminal proceedings with precautionary measures without any judicial supervision.
Most of them (16) have already been convicted of the crime of “sedition,” for which they receive an average prison sentence of five years. This is “a punishment on average higher than that suffered by adults in political prison before #11J,” said Prisoners Defenders. “Currently, most of them are under house arrest or doing forced labor without internment.”
225 protesters have been accused of committing the alleged crime of sedition and at least 222 sentenced to an average of 10 years in prison each.
The figure includes 119 women (including minors and two transgender women), of whom the transgender women have been imprisoned among men, which shows a violation of their rights.
Hundreds of prisoners also do not have adequate medical treatment despite having serious medical conditions. Lack of food, mistreatment, and the oppressive environment worsen their condition.
The prevailing repression in Cuba has been extensively denounced by the European Parliament. A resolution passed on February 29, 2024, by an absolute majority, offers detailed descriptions of the repression exercised by the Cuban regime. It mentions incidents of internet restrictions, including hacking of journalists’ accounts to silence freedom of expression.
Despite this compelling evidence of human rights violations, Prisoners Defenders points out, the Spanish government and the European Commission have shown a worrying lack of action and commitment to address the situation in Cuba.