NGO documents 36 new political prisoners in Cuba by end of July

The NGO Prisoners Defenders (PD) has documented 36 new political prisoners in Cuba by the close of July, according to its latest report. Fifteen of these individuals are connected to recent protests, facing charges for participating, documenting, supporting, or being otherwise associated with the demonstrations.

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fifteen of them linked to protests, for 'having participated in them, documenting them, supporting them or having been subsequently related to the events'.

The report indicates a concentration of these detentions in the central-east and eastern provinces of the island. PD notes that prolonged power outages, water shortages, and the collapse of essential services in these regions have fueled ongoing protests, often referred to as 'cacerolazos' (pot-banging demonstrations).

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the prolonged power outages, the lack of water and the collapse of other essential services drive new pot-banging demonstrations and protests every day.

Prisoners Defenders observed that authorities have extended their operations beyond direct participants to include those who documented protests, chanted slogans, aided demonstrators, or were later linked to the events or their dissemination. Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey provinces each recorded four new cases, followed by Guantánamo and Holguín with two each. This geographical distribution suggests that social discontent and the state's repressive response have been particularly pronounced outside the capital, Havana.

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the operations were not limited to those who participated directly in the protests, but also reached people who documented them, expressed slogans, assisted demonstrators or were subsequently related to the events or their dissemination.

The NGO also highlighted the case of 13-year-old Alex Javier Hernández González, who was reportedly detained on July 22 without an arrest warrant or judicial oversight during protests in Santiago de las Vegas, Havana. He is allegedly held at the El Combinadito prison, and PD asserts that the special protections due to a minor of his age have been violated. The report details that 15 individuals were released in July after completing their sentences, but the total number of political prisoners has reached 2,148 since August 2021.

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the social discontent and the repressive response had a particularly marked incidence outside of Havana, in provinces hit by the collapse of basic services and with greater difficulty in making detentions visible and obtaining legal assistance.