In August of 2016, our Commission registered at least 517 arbitrary detentions, for political reasons, of peaceful Cuban opponents, which represents an increase from the previous month.
The figures associated with political repression in Cuba continue to be unacceptably high for a country with with a low level of political violence, except the systematic actions of terror and intimidate from the State.
In the month reported on there also occurred 24 physical aggressions and 8 acts of harassment on the part of the political secret police, which brought to 115 the number condemned for political reasons or conditions, 104 of which languished in the huge prison system of the Castros’ Cuba and 11 served sentences of house arrest.
The peaceful opponent Guillermo “Coco” Fariñas has already spent 45 days on hunger strike, without eating or drinking water, demanding that the government put an end to the politically violent repression, the seizing of the means of employment, and other forms of harassment against peaceful opponents. Fariñas’ demands are absolutely just.
The Ladies in White Movement continues to be a priority target for repression: during the last 68 Sundays and on other days of the week the police repression against them has been very notorious and they have suffered thousands and thousands of arbitrary detentions.
