Politically Motivated Detentions Rising at an Alarming Rate
According to The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation’s (CCHRNR) recent reports , the number of political prisoners currently incarcerated in Cuba is at 90 individuals. This number has doubled from 45 prisoners since March of 2012, a span of only 10 months. Thirty of the prisoners listed in the report belong to UNPACU, Cuba’s Patriotic Union, a civil organization led by former Cuban prisoner of conscience, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, whose mission is to engage in non-violent civil protest against the repression of civil liberties in Cuba.
In addition, the number of short term arrests and detentions of Cuban civilians for political reasons has risen from 2,074 in 2010 to 6,602 in 2012, at an average increase of over 375 arrests per month during a three year span. In March of 2012 alone over 1,100 detentions were made. According to the CCHRNR, these detentions have been executed by the Cuban government without any regard to the rule of penal law or proper criminal procedure. This is not to mention the reported beatings and inhumane, cruel and degrading treatment systematically meted out by Cuban authorities to its citizens engaged in peaceful opposition.
The CCHRNR report further states that there are currently between 150 and 200 maximum security prisons, correctional centers, work camps and other detention facilities on the island. Within this disproportionate prison system there is a reign of cruel treatment and degrading conditions, which are worsening every day.