MIAMI, United States.- A report from the United States Department of State assures that Washington has received “credible evidence of unlawful killings, forced disappearances and torture of political activists” in Cuba, which would be a harsh evaluation of the record of the government of La Habana published this week as part of the agency’s annual report on human rights practices.
According to an article in El Nuevo Herald, the report warns about “important human rights problems” on the island and highlights the “systematic and violent repression” unleashed by the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel against Cubans who went out to protest on July 11, 2021.
Cuban activist groups have documented more than 1,400 arrests in the country in the wake of massive anti-government demonstrations, yet the Castro regime has only admitted to prosecuting more than 700 people, including 55 between the ages of 16 and 18.
Regarding what happened between July 11 and 12, 2021 in Cuba, the State Department document adds that “there were confirmed reports of long-term disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities,” and that “some detainees and prisoners were physically and sexually abused by prison officials or other inmates at the instigation of guards.”
The agency mentions the examples of Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, who was shot by a police officer in the Havana neighborhood of La Güinera, and the Garrido sisters, María Cristina, a writer and activist, and Angélica, who were beaten by the police for participating in the protest. on July 11 in Quivicán, Mayabeque province.
According to the report, Angelica fainted three times from the blows. “The sisters were transferred to a police station, where María Cristina received another beating,” they add.
According to the Herald note, the information obtained by the State Department comes from testimonies and documents obtained by relatives, activists and human rights organizations, some confirmed in various press reports.
The State Department publishes the report when trials against 9/11 protesters are still taking place in Cuba. Some of those who have already been tried face sentences of up to more than 20 years in prison.
According to the report, so far “there are no known cases of prosecution of government officials for human rights abuses, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
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