EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 5 November 2022 — Cuban NGO, Justicia 11J shared on Friday that it has documented a total of 162 arrests of protesters who participated in “at least 202 public protests” in Cuba between August and October.
In a report published on social media, the association shared that of the more than 160 people arrested, five are younger than 18 years of age — the minimum criminal age in the country is 16 years — and 78 remain under arrest.
According to the registry developed by the NGO, the total number of detentions since June increased to 188.
The protests, according to the report, occurred in 14 of the 15 provinces across the Island, with Havana being the region with most protests (55), followed by the western province of Matanzas (19).
According to the report, September 30th and October 1st represented 26.4% of the protest days. In just those two days, there were 41 protests, according to the NGO.
Those were the days after Hurricane Ian made landfall on the easternmost part of the island, which left a good part of the country without electricity and water for almost a week.
As to the use of violence against protesters, Justicia 11J has documented cases in Nuevitas (Camagüey province), where protests occurred over several consecutive nights in August, and in Havana following Hurricane Ian.
“At least four people were brutally beaten (in Havana). The mother of one of those stated that five days after the protest, she had not yet been allowed to see him, even after she was informed that her son was receiving medical care from a maxilofacial surgeon,” states the organization.
Translated by: Silvia Suárez
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