One year after 11J in Cuba, dozens are still detained and HRW denounces violations to the DD. H H.

The mobilizations of a year ago, unprecedented in Cuba due to the population’s discontent with food shortages, rising inflation, power outages and the dollarization of the economy, were a catalyst for its citizens who also called for a liberal democracy, as opposed to the socialist system that prevails on the island.

In these protests against the serious economic crisis that the country is going through and for which there are still no solutions, there were massive arrests, both of historical dissidents against the Government and critics, as well as of citizens.

A year later, the balance of these arrests is not encouraging. The NGOs Cubalex and Justicia 11J have documented 1,484 arrests and other Cuban and international NGOs have denounced irregularities in the trials, criticized the high sentences in prison, the fabrication of evidence and non-compliance with due processsomething that the Cuban Judiciary denies.

The European Union has requested this Monday, July 11, the release of all these detainees whose rights have been violated.

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, issued a statement on Monday stating that “during the past 12 months, the EU has reiterated its call on the Cuban Government to respect human rights and freedoms of Cubans (…) and release all political prisoners and detainees, just for exercising their freedom of assembly and expression and will continue to do so,” said Borrell.

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported in January, according to the EFE agency, “that 790 people had been prosecuted for these events, of which 55 were between 16 and 17 years old on that date. The minimum criminal age in Cuba is 16” and that so far “the courts have issued 76 final sentences against 381 people. 78% of those sanctioned (297) received prison sentences, sometimes up to 25 years”, for their alleged participation in violent incidents, such as throwing stones during protests.

Some sentences crossed out by the EU as “disproportionate”. Borrell said that these trials “raise important concerns in relation to basic principles and transparency standards,” and called on the Cuban government to allow the diplomatic community to attend the judicial processes.

The high representative also asked the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to carry out a “meaningful and inclusive dialogue with the Cubans about their legitimate complaints.”

HRW speaks of “abusive” criminal proceedings against detainees

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and local NGOs have reported an uptick in repression against activists, dissidents and independent journalists since 11J. They denounce arbitrary arrests, threats, interrogations and Internet connection cuts.

The 37-page report, called “Prison or exile: Systematic repression against the July 2021 protests in Cuba”documents a large number of human rights violations committed in the context of the protests, such as the incommunicado detention to which they are subjected or the “abusive” criminal proceedings.

Since the arrests began, the NGO has investigated more than 155 cases and writes in its report that “judges and prosecutors, who in Cuba lack independence from the government, facilitated abusive criminal proceedings and participated in them ( …) in most of the documented cases, detainees were kept incommunicado for days, weeks or even months, unable to make phone calls or receive visits from their families or lawyers,” added HRW.

The report reveals that “the majority of detainees said they were kept in overcrowded and unsanitary cells, with limited or no access to food, medicine, clean water or protection to prevent the spread of Covid-19.” And it adds that “rapid response brigades”, the name of the groups of civilians organized by the Government, “were involved in several beatings.”

“We found that officials repeatedly detained peaceful protesters and arrested critics on their way to demonstrations or barred them from leaving their homes for days or even weeks,” HRW says in its report.

The victims and their families said, according to the HRW report, that security force agents repeatedly intimidated them, in some cases forcing them to leave the country.

Orelvys Cabrera Sotolongo, a journalist for the ‘Cubanet’ news website, was detained as he left the demonstrations on July 11.

“The officers repeatedly questioned him and told him he would never see his family again. He was only allowed to make one phone call 10 days after his arrest. He spent part of his detention with eight other detainees in a one and a half meter by two meter cell, with little ventilation, light and access to water. He was released on August 19, but was repeatedly told by officials that he must leave the country. In December, he and his partner fled, ”says the HRW report.

What happened on July 11, 2021 in Cuba?

Discontent over the economic crisis, as a result of failures in national politics, US sanctions, and the pandemic, caused many Cubans to take to the streets that Sunday, July 11, 2021, most of them peacefully, to ask for changes, but the marches failed to reduce the causes that provoked it.

Supported by live broadcasts on social networks, the rallies managed to gather people in about 50 places on the island, with an epicenter in Havana.

But for the government, some clashes with the police served to brand them as violent, counterrevolutionary and orchestrated from abroad. In fact, last week, Díaz-Canel described them as a “vandalic coup d’état.”

And although the demonstrations did not achieve a change of government, the population “woke up” to the difficulties and has urged “freedom” on the island. The demonstrations, says the dissident artist Yunior García, a year later, were the biggest social explosion in the history of Cuba.

The playwright, who has been living in exile in Madrid since November, was interviewed by AP and said that “even though everything is worse (…) despite the thousands of political prisoners… I think it was worth it because it was the awakening of the people of Cuba. It is not just about the misery and hunger that Cubans suffer. That day was a cry for freedom, Garcia said.

The playwright was the main promoter of an opposition Internet platform called Archipelago, which he presented in September – a month and a half after the protests – to call for a “civic march for change.”

The crises on the island: what is appeased and what is not?

A year later, according to analysts consulted by EFE, the Government has only solved one of the causes: the health crisis derived from Covid-19.

“The campaign (against Covid-19) has been a success. But in terms of the economic crisis, I don’t necessarily see great progress,” Michael Bustamante, a historian at the University of Miami, tells EFE.

“The energy issue (due to blackouts) and food has worsened and is a factor of social irritation,” says Arturo López-Levy, assistant professor of Politics and International Relations at Holy Names University in California.

Regarding the energy and economic crisis, according to official data, inflation in the state retail market reached 70% in 2021. The increase in prices in the extensive informal market, depending on the calculations, was between 500 and 700%.

The Diaz-Canel government has reiterated that these difficulties are due to the tightening of US sanctions during Donald Trump’s mandate (2017-2021) and the pandemic, but has recognized that the implementation of the economic reform called the Task Ordering at the beginning of 2021 has flaws.

For its part, the state-owned Electric Union (UNE) has reported outages on at least 54 days practically daily since June.

With EFE and AP