MÉRIDA, Mexico – The updated report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) alleged that violations of religious freedom by the Cuban regime have remained particularly serious throughout 2024.
“The government uses its repressive legal framework to strictly control religious associations and criminalize religious activities and expressions,” It is read in the document.
USCIRF draws attention to the fact that the Havana regime uses its legal framework “to prohibit religious organizations from obtaining legal registration.”
He also notes that in Cuba, believers who express ideas or participate in any religious activity that is perceived as critical are threatened and punished.
USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government continue to press the regime to allow unrestricted visits by USCIRF, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Worship.
Repression of religious people
The USCIRF report highlights the example of the Ladies in White, against whom the Cuban regime has used “its vast internal security and surveillance apparatus.”
It also mentions the cases of religious leaders and believers who are serving prison sentences for participating in the demonstrations of July 11, 2021, as Donaida Pérez Paseiro and her husband, Loreto Hernández García, leaders of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba; Lorenzo Rosales Fajardoleader of the Independent Church Monte de Sion in Palma Soriano; or the twins Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, members of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba.
Finally, the report includes several examples of harassment of religious people in recent months, such as the withholding in July of humanitarian aid that a religious organisation based in the United Kingdom sent to the Cuban people, or the questioning of a priest in August for inviting his followers to pray in a public park.
Other reports
Released last May, andThe report USCIRF for 2023 recommended maintaining Cuba in the section of countries of “particular concern” due to reported violations of religious freedom.
He also stressed the urgent need for international attention and concrete measures such as sanctions targeting responsible entities and officials.
According to the report, Cuban legislation, including the recently approved one Social Communication Lawfunctions as a tool to severely limit any religious expression that criticizes the government. “The legislation expands the government’s already extensive authority to prosecute individuals who freely express their religious beliefs,” he explained.
