EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 15 August 2024 — The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) reported on Wednesday that at the end of July it registered 1,119 people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba, two more than those included in its monthly June report.
The organization, based in Madrid, explained, within the framework of the third anniversary of the anti-government protests on 11 July 2021 (11J), that the Cuban Government deployed “a repressive operation against activists and independent journalists throughout the Island.”
PD cited the case of independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, who was arrested on July 5, “interrogated and warned that on July 11 he should refrain from making any publication on his social networks.”
The NGO, which registered three new incarcerations and one release in June, explained that 30 minors are still on the list of prisoners, of which 28 are serving sentences and two are being prosecuted. The minimum criminal age in Cuba is 16 years old. It also stated that 15 of the minors have been convicted of sedition, with an average sentence of five years of deprivation of liberty.
The statement added that 224 people have been accused of sedition
The statement added that 224 people – mostly participants in the anti-government protests of 11J – have been accused of sedition, and at least 223 have already been convicted of that crime, with an average sentence of 10 years of deprivation of liberty.
The NGO reported that it has counted 1,731 people imprisoned at some point for political reasons in Cuba since 11J.
According to PD, at the end of June, the number of prisoners (including minors and two trans women) remained at 119. “All trans women of conscience in prison have been and are imprisoned among men, which also happens with common trans prisoners, suffering situations among men that are indescribable for their sexual condition,” the organization said.
Meanwhile, this Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 48/2024, which granted precautionary measures in favor of the Cuban prisoner Joel Jardines Jardines, considering that he is in a serious and urgent situation of risk of irreparable damage to his rights in Cuba.
The IACHR reported that Jardines Jardines, detained in Aguacate prison, Quivican, in Mayabeque, has not received adequate medical attention, which aggravates his state of health. He suffers from a laryngeal carcinoma, and since 2021, should have undergone tests to start a possible chemotherapy treatment. The IACHR said that the prisoner lacks treatment for his ailments and suffered physical repression after requesting medical attention from the authorities. In view of this, the commission urged that they allow him to be diagnosed, provide sufficient and timely medical information and define his treatment.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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