Cuba
Monday 17.5.2021 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Hospitalisation of artist on hunger strike and increased repression of activists in Cuba
At the end of April 2021, artist and human rights defender Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara started a hunger strike in protest against continued harassment against him and members of Movimiento San Isidro (MSI). Read more
Thursday 11.3.2021 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuba reacts swiftly to popular song criticising revolution
In February 2021, a song criticising Cuba’s situation went viral on social media and elicited a strong reaction from the government. “Patria y Vida” by Cuban artists Yotuel Romero, Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, Maykel Osorbo and El Funky touches on socio-political issues in the country, with lyrics condemning the Cuban revolution and government. Read more | Read in Spanish
Friday 15.1.2021 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuban government backtracks on talks with protesters and uses COVID-19 regulations to harass critics
As previously reported on the CIVICUS Monitor, in November 2020 the arrest of musician Denis Solís González led artists and activists with Movimiento San Isidro to mobilise for his release. On 26th November 2020, the Cuban authorities raided the movement’s headquarters and detained 14 activists who had been on hunger strike for several days. Read more
Friday 27.11.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuban rapper Denis Solís of Movimiento San Isidro imprisoned; several artists on hunger strike
85 civil society organisations expressed their concern at Cuba’s re-election to a fifth term on the UN Human Rights Council on 13th October 2020. For the organisations, this not only rewards Cuba’s poor human rights record, but it also undermines the integrity of the Council to hold abusive governments accountable for their actions in the region and across the globe. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 17.9.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Protest against police killing suppressed in Cuba and Sunflower Uprising proceeds despite repression
Several political dissidents and protesters were detained for supporting and participating in activities of a peaceful day of protest, the “Revolución de los Girasoles” (“Sunflower Uprising”) convened on 8th September 2020 by Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU). Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 10.6.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuba cracking down on dissent using internet regulation and COVID-19 pretence
Cuban news media, social movements and human rights organisations have denounced that the government has continued to crackdown on dissent, repress freedoms and silence critical voices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, there have been several reports of activists and journalists being detained or harassed, particularly through police citations, summons and interrogations. At least 30 people have been subjected to harassment from state actors under Decree 370, which has been used to supress freedom of expression in the country. Read more
Monday 6.4.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuban artist detained for his work and declared prisoner of conscience
At the end of March 2020, the Cuban government announced a series of measures to promote social distancing and contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. The policies adopted included mandatory quarantine for travellers, movement restrictions and closing borders to non-residents. Read more
Thursday 27.2.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Cuba bans defenders from travelling and exposes their families to harassment
On 4th February 2020, opposition leader Guillermo Fariñas was detained by agents of the State Security Department on his way to a visa appointment at the Spanish Embassy in Havana. Fariñas is a dissident well-known for having conducted several hunger strikes for peaceful political change, who was awarded with a Sakharov prize for freedom of thought by the European Parliament in 2010. Read more
Tuesday 7.1.2020 Cuba - Latest Developments -
Activists, journalists and dissidents detained to prevent protests on International Human Rights Day
On 9th and 10th December 2019, several human rights defenders, intellectuals, leaders of opposition groups and journalists were placed under house arrest without a judicial order. Many reported that security officers were guarding their homes, threatening to arrest them if they went out into the street. This wave of repression took place around the celebrations for International Human Rights Day on 10th December. According to reports, the detentions were conducted to prevent protests. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 4.11.2019 Cuba - Latest Developments -
HRD detained without charge and journalist arrested for disobedience as Cuba increases repression
On 1 October 2019, security agents detained José Daniel Ferrer, leader of opposition group Unión Patriótica de Cuba (Patriotic Union of Cuba - UNPACU). Ferrer was with his four sons when the Cuban special forces detained him and four other activists. The UNPACU leader was held incommunicado for 72 hours, remaining in detention without charge.
On 11 September 2019, authorities arrested independent Cuban journalist Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces, after he was convicted of resistance and disobedience for attempting to cover a trial of religious pastors. On 7 October 2019, nineteen independent media outlets published a declaration reporting a wave of repression from the Díaz-Canel government. Since January 2018 to date, the signatory organisations have counted 183 aggressions against journalists, with a noticeable increase in recent months.
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