Cuba: Activists and independent journalists under persistent threat

Introduction

In November 2023, during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), civil society organisations drew attention to the human rights situation in Cuba. They specifically urged participating states to issue robust recommendations addressing the systematic human rights violations on the right to life, integrity, liberty, and justice of Cuban citizens. According to the organisations, there are three main issues: intimidation and harassment against activists and journalists, criminalisation of social protest, and a restrictive legal framework for freedom of expression.

The European Union Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR), Eamon Gilmore, visited Cuba in November 2023 for the fourth Human Rights Dialogue under the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA). During his visit, he urged the Cuban State to uphold citizens’ fundamental rights and expressed concerns about detentions and long prison sentences from the 2021 protests. He also emphasised “the importance of further steps to foster a safe and enabling environment, both online and offline, where civil society can operate, free from hindrance and insecurity.”

Association

Death of political prisoner

On 19th November 2023, Luis Barrios Diaz, a political prisoner, tragically passed away allegedly due to a respiratory condition he developed in prison. According to the Cuban Human Rights Observatory (Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos, OCDH), Barrios had been grappling with respiratory issues since August 2023. This prompted his admission to the prison’s infirmary in San Miguel del Padrón, eventually leading to his transfer to a specialised care facility in a Havana hospital.

The doctors at the hospital informed the prison authorities that hospitalisation was essential due to Barrios’ deteriorating health. However, the prison authorities opted to return him to the prison, citing a shortage of fuel necessary for maintaining constant surveillance. On 18th November, Barrios underwent emergency surgery and later, while in intensive care, died due to respiratory complications.

In January 2022, Barrios was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Municipal Tribunal for his participation in the 11th July 2021 protests. He was accused of crimes related to public disorder and attack. As previously reported, at least 121 activists were detained during multiple protests between the 11th July 2021 and 9th July 2023. Moreover, during the first half of 2023, Prisoners Defenders, a human rights organisation based in Spain, confirmed the existence of 96 political prisoners in Cuba. This represents an average of 16 new detainees per month.

Civil society organisations have denounced this incident as not being an isolated case, emphasising a pattern of deaths in custody that are left uninvestigated by the state and instead concealed. According to the Cuban Prison Documentation Centre (Centro de Documentación de Prisiones Cubanas), as of 2023, at least 11 deaths within detention centres have been reported.

On 21st November, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) called on the Cuban state to promptly and impartially investigate the death of Barrios.

Peaceful Assembly

Report on protests in Cuba

The Cuban Conflict Observatory (Observatorio Cubano de Conflictos, OCC) reported a rise in peaceful protest actions in Cuba, with 619 protests recorded in October 2023. Most of them were related to food insecurity, violence and insecurity, and housing issues.

This represents a 4.85 per cent increase compared to the same month in the previous year, where 589 protests were recorded. Moreover, the number of protests in October 2023 marked a significant 24.88 per cent increase from the 496 protests recorded in September 2023. The OCC noted that Havana was a focal point for these protests.

Expression

Journalists’ arbitrary detention

On 18th October, two independent journalists, Julio César Álvarez Marrero and Yolanda Pérez Díaz, were arbitrary detained in the province of Holguín, the fourth largest city in Cuba. They were taken to a military station and were subjected to interrogation, with the authorities threatening them with imprisonment for their work. After an hour and a half they were released. As reported by Palenque Visión, an independent audiovisual agency in Cuba, the detention occurred on the same day that journalists had planned to cover incidents of theft and assault at the local market.

According to the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (Instituto Cubano por la Libertad de Expresión y Prensa, ICLEP), a Cuban media NGO, independent journalists in Cuba face arbitrary detentions aimed at intimidating them and hindering their work, with 169 cases recorded in 2023 alone.

The integrity and life of journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca raises concerns

As previously documented, in 2021, police officers arrested journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca when he presented himself at a police station in Havana after receiving a police summons related to a 2020 contempt investigation into peaceful civil disobedience. On 28th July 2022, a court convicted him of the crimes of ‘enemy propaganda’ and ‘resistance,’ sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment. According to Article 19, since his arbitrary imprisonment in 2021, the journalist’s health has significantly worsened, and despite this he had received inadequate and precarious medical care, endangering his physical integrity. In addition, he had been denied basic hygiene facilities such as hot water.

In October 2023, the journalist’s health seriously deteriorated, showing signs of malnutrition, torture and psychological abuse after two and a half years of imprisonment. Following this, on 30th October, civil society organisations demanded his immediate release from prison as well as urgent measures to ensure his integrity and health.

In a recent interview conducted by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (Instituto Cubano por la Libertad de Expresión y Prensa, ICLEP) with Ealidis Frómeta, the wife of Valle Roca, she declared that “In yesterday’s observation, when I managed to see him without a pullover, my husband is completely dehydrated. His condition is not conducive to being under custodial care; instead, it warrants an immediate transfer to a hospital due to severe physical deterioration. He is markedly dehydrated, weakened, and lacking strength, raising concerns of a potentially fatal outcome.”

Restrictions on freedom of expression debated during IACHR hearings

On 7th November, the IACHR held a hearing on freedom of expression and the new Law on Social Communication in Cuba, which gives broad powers to the government to control and close media outlets. During the hearing, civil society organisations expressed concern about the new social communication law in Cuba, which has allowed the state to institutionalise control over activists and independent journalists.

The IACHR called on the Cuban state to cease its resistance to international observation and to guarantee the right to exercise of freedom of expression. Furthermore, the IACHR has expressed concern about the increase in people deprived of liberty for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and the lack of guarantees for the protection of this fundamental right.