MIAMI, United States. — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) registered 5,499 repressive actions during the past year, marked by a serious economic crisis and by the deterioration of freedoms on the Island.
The organization, based in Madrid (Spain), indicated this Thursday that, of the total repressive actions, 1,354 were arbitrary arrests, 832 of them against women (the highest figure reported since 2018). There were also 1,447 detentions in homes and 53 cases of forced exile.
The OCDH pointed out that the repressive actions perpetrated by the Cuban regime had as victims not only activists, human rights defenders and members of civil society in general, but also ordinary citizens without any type of political affiliation.
“It is difficult to find an area of exercise of rights that escapes the crisis. The repression remains at worrying levels, providing the State with new legal mechanisms to prevent or punish any expression of citizen discontent,” the platform underlined in its Annual report.
In the case of detentions in homes, the consolidation of a repressive pattern consisting of besieging activists, opponents and relatives of prisoners in their homes is reflected in the Caribbean country, with strict police surveillance, as well as prohibition of exit and control of access.
Another prevailing pattern was the imprisonment or forced exile of activists and opponents. According to the OCDH, prominent political activists and members of civil society were detained or remained in prison. The report adds that many of those who did not suffer imprisonment were victims of police summonses, threats and detainees at their homes in order to make them give up their work as activists or journalists or leave the country.
The report also accounts for 697 repressive actions against independent journalists, which included threats, surveillance, subpoenas, and restrictions on mobile data and telephony.
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