The NGO documented that there were a total of 173 protests on the island between July 2023 and July 2024.
EFE (via 14ymedio), Mexico City, 28 November 2024 — The organization Justicia 11J reported Wednesday that 554 Cubans remain imprisoned for participating in the July 2021 anti-government protests, the largest in decades on the island.
In its annual report Otro año sin justicia (Another Year Without Justice), presented Wednesday afternoon, the NGO warned that “repression on the island, by state authorities, is systemic and structural” and stressed that “Cuba’s repressive context has become more complex”.
Similarly, Justicia 11J assured that the 554 demonstrators still in Cuban jails represent 35% of the 1,580 people who have been detained since the July 11, 2021 (11J) demonstrations. The prison sentences are up to more than 20 years.
Also, the organization emphasized in the document that 93% of the 554 inmates are men.
In addition, 12 of them are between 20 and 21 years old -they were arrested when they were 17 and 18-; 383 are between 22 and 45 years old; 92 are between 46 and 59 years old; and 13 are 60 or older.
Justice 11J documented that between July 2023 and July 2024, there were 173 protests in Cuba. Within that period, “at least 35 people” were arrested, of which “27 are still in detention.”
Justicia 11 J criticized the fact that “the Cuban State” has “continued to manipulate the dialogue with international actors to project a false image of commitment to civil society and citizens.
In this regard, Camila Rodríguez, founder and director of the organization, stated during the online presentation of the report that the protests on the island “will continue to happen”, so “there is no turning back”.
Johanna Cilano, a researcher with Amnesty International (AI) for the Caribbean, regretted that “there is no civic space and freedom of association” in the country. She also reiterated AI’s concern for the case of opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, imprisoned since 2021.
Last week, family members, human rights NGOs and Cuban dissident organizations denounced that Ferrer, considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was hospitalized after being “brutally beaten” by prison staff.
Neither the Cuban government nor the official press has reported on the matter. A minority pro-government media outlet assured that the reports of the beating “are unfounded” and that Ferrer was in a “favorable” state.
In its annual report, Justice 11J criticized the fact that “the Cuban state” has “continued to manipulate dialogue with international actors to project a false image of engagement with civil society and citizens. Its interactions with UN and EU representatives show an official willingness to maintain diplomatic relations while dodging its responsibilities”.
Translated by LAR
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