Shocking report reveals that political prisoners in the communist country of Cuba are still being abused even after Fidel Castro’s death nearly seven years later.
Spanish human rights organization, Prisoners Defenders, published a report on May 30 exposing widespread torture in Cuba. The report, which gathered first hand testimonies from witnesses, details the systematic abuse endured by individuals imprisoned for various “crimes,” including disrespect for the Communist revolution.
“This study has been developed using a sample of 181 political prisoners, taking into account as the universe the people who have been on the list of political prisoners for the last 12 months (1,277 political prisoners, April 2022 to March 2023),” the report’s introduction read.
“The methodology combines quantitative methods (questionnaires with closed questions); and qualitative methods (open-ended questions, in-depth interviews and research) on the legal, physical and psychological status of the political prisoners studied, including information regarding acts of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment against the defendants,” it continued.
The report reveals that prisoners lack access to independent attorneys as all legal representatives in the country operate under the authority of the Communist Party. Their rights also remain unprotected, leading to frequent violations. All 168 cases examined in the report showed evidence of torture.
Among the crimes inflicted on prisoners were deprivation of medical care, use of stress positions, poisons, deprivation of food, water, and sleep, and “use of temperature as a torture mechanism.” Prison guards also threatened both women and men with rape.
For instance, one woman who was arrested in 2021 at the age of 17 suffered severe beatings, resulting in partial hearing loss in one ear. The guards further terrorized her by putting her in a cell with two male rapists.
Other inmates also alleged that guards set dogs on prisoners and made threats of harm to their families.
Despite Cuba signing and ratifying the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1995, little progress has been made in practice. The regime continues to imprison individuals based on their political opinions and subject them to abuse.
Since 2021, however, opposition to the regime has increased, but communist authorities have also intensified their crackdown in the process.
