Havana Cuba. – The 11J Justice Commission, which since July 2021 has kept a record of political prisoners in Cuban jails and the government’s response to public protestshas formally requested a hearing from the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.
The petition is related to the presence of the Cuban State at the International Penitentiary Congress, held between December 6 and 8, 2022 in the city of San José, Costa Rica, where a delegation represented by Yojanier Sierra ―president of the Provincial Court People’s Court of Havana― and Yoel Quinta, the judge of the First Criminal Chamber of the People’s Provincial Court of Matanzas.
Based on a meticulous job of verifying and updating data on arrests, criminal proceedings, sanctions against citizens for political reasons and the situation of the prisons in Cuba, Justice 11J ensures that the Cuban judicial system and prison system do not develop practices that guarantee compliance with international standards on due process and human rights. Consequently, they do not meet the basic standards to participate in a Congress of this nature.
The review of the sanctions imposed on protesters has shown that in Cuba justice is politicized, the right to protest is criminalized, and impunity is guaranteed for the repressive forces that have intimidated and attacked citizens for publicly expressing their rejection of the government or the system.
In its request, Justice 11J denounces that the protesters have suffered physical and psychological violence both during arbitrary arrests and in prisons where they are serving sentences of up to 25 years in prison. It also exposes the overcrowding, the terrible hygienic-sanitary conditions and the poor nutrition in Cuban prisons, where arbitrary transfers to more rigorous prisons, hunger strikes in protest, unexplained deaths and degrading treatment are also verified.
Justicia 11J aspires to present the documentary evidence collected before ILANUD with the purpose of demonstrating the illegitimate operation of the Cuban judicial system and penitentiary system, as well as the responsibility shared by those who represented the island during the event held in Costa Rica.
