Havana Cuba. – At least seven of the demonstrators who last Saturday took to the streets of Línea and F, in Vedado, to protest the blackouts and demand freedom, remain imprisoned in the detention center known as 100 and Aldabó, and are being instructed to charges for the alleged crime of “disrespect”, as reported to CubaNet people close to the detainees on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“The protest was peaceful, because we are already tired of the terrible situation in the country, it was not only demanding electricity, we shouted freedom. There were very few uniformed policemen. The arrests were made by people dressed in civilian clothes, they were very aggressive, they hit, one says they broke his partition, but I couldn’t see well because everything was very dark,” one of the protesters who was not arrested told this media outlet. also under condition of anonymity.
Among those arrested is Jose Adalberto Fernandez Canizares, 38 years old. According to denounced the visual artist Julio Llópiz Casal, was taken to 110 and Aldabó “after receiving medical attention, because State Security broke bones in his face, where he currently has 37 stitches. He is being accused of crimes that the Cuban Government fabricates.”
Likewise, two of the children of Cuban actor Frank Artola, aged 18 and 27, respectively, were violently detained. Almost a week after the arrest, the family has not been able to see or speak with them.
In Santa Clara, Cristian Hernández Villavicencio, barely 12 years old, was arrested during the protests in that city and spent about 25 hours in an investigation unit where he was “coerced by officers from the Directorate for the Reeducation of Minors of the Ministry of the Interior,” according to reported the Justice 11J task force.
So far, Justice 11J has documented at least 28 arrests related to the protests that took place between September 30 and October 3 last. Of these, 20 are still in detention and are being prosecuted for the alleged crimes of “resistance”, “disrespect” and “public disorder”.
Since September 29, the media specialized in data journalism Inventory Project records 55 protests on the island, 48 of them in Havana. During those days, militarization was reported mainly in the capital.
For its part, the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts document 364 protests in Cuba during the month of September. For the organization, the demonstrations that took place in Havana, after the passage of Hurricane Ian, were the largest since July 11, 2021.
Various NGOs they have spoken against the criminalization of protests on the island. Erika Guevara Rosas, Director for the Americas at Amnesty International, demanded Miguel Díaz-Canel to “end the repression” and respond to “the genuine claims” of the population.
The official press has threatened to prosecute the mothers who went out with their children to protest in late September and early August over the lack of electricity.
The official spokesman Humberto López assured this Wednesday on national television that those who protest in a disorganized way in the streets will have to answer in court for participating in alleged crimes of public disorder.
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