In a letter, to which this newspaper had access, six rapporteurs ask for explanations about the police repression and the judicial processes derived from the protests of 11J
14ymedio, Madrid, June 3, 2024 — Six UN rapporteurs have urged Cuba to explain alleged human rights violations linked to police repression and judicial processes arising from the protests of 11 July 2021, the largest in decades on the Island.
In a letter sent to Miguel Díaz-Canel, to which 14ymedio had access, four rapporteurs and two representatives of portfolio working groups linked to human rights talk about “concerns” and request explanations from Havana.
The 16-page letter is dated April 3 and explains that after 60 days the document would be published with the answers provided by the Government of Cuba. As of now moment, the UN website has not included any response from Havana.
“We would like to urge the Government of your Excellency to take all necessary measures to protect the rights and freedoms of the aforementioned persons and to investigate, prosecute and impose appropriate sanctions on any person responsible for the alleged violations,” the rapporteurs write.
They also urge Díaz-Canel “to take effective measures to prevent such events, if they have occurred, from being repeated
They also urge Díaz-Canel “to take effective measures to prevent such events, if they have occurred, from being repeated.”
They argue that, if the allegations were confirmed, “numerous international human rights norms and standards enshrined, among others, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance” would have been violated.
The rapporteurs indicate that the letter is based on “sufficiently reliable” information so that the matter receives “immediate attention,” although they add that they do not want to “prejudge the veracity” of the contribution that triggered this special procedure.
That is why they call on the Cuban Government to respond in general to the “allegations” presented and, in particular, to explain how the Cuban legal system – from the election of judges and lawyers to the investigative and judicial process – is “compatible” with the country’s human rights obligations.
They also ask for a description of the “measures” adopted so that “the legislation complies with the international human rights obligations assumed” by Cuba and to guarantee the rights of peaceful assembly, association and expression “without fear” of imprisonment.
The letter includes a summary of the information that triggered the procedure, which speaks of “hundreds of thousands” of demonstrators on 11 July 2021, the violent dissolution of the marches and the arrest of between 5,000 and 8,000 people in the following days.
That story also refers to the fact that “thousands” of Cubans did not have a “fair trial” or enjoy due process,” that judges, prosecutors and lawyers in Cuba cannot act independently of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and that defense lawyers often work at a disadvantage.
That account also refers to the fact that “thousands” of Cubans did not have a “fair trial” or enjoy “due process,” and that judges, prosecutors and lawyers in Cuba cannot act independently
The NGO Prisoners Defenders, based in Madrid, indicated in a separate statement that the letter from the rapporteurs is a “direct and unambiguous response” to the complaint it delivered to the UN in July 2023.
The president of Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, expressed his “deep gratitude” to the rapporteurs and his intention to continue working to “eradicate the procedural framework of violation of the rights of all defendants, convicts and political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Cuba.”
The document is signed by the special rapporteurs on the independence of magistrates and lawyers, on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The letter is also signed by the vice president of communications of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the president-rapporteur of the Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances.
The July 2021 protests were a political and social watershed in Cuba. Since then, Prisoners Defenders has registered about 1,500 prisoners for political reasons, while the NGO Justice 11J has collected 1,905 people arrested, of which 800 are still in prison.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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