Persecution in Cuba: An NGO records at least 936 attacks by dictatorship against religious freedom in 2023

He Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) It announced this Wednesday that it registered in 2023 “At least 936 measures against the exercise of religious freedom” in Cuba and condemned the banReligious processions for this holy week.

“The data collected by OCDH shows violations against people who publicly identify as religious and against others who regularly or occasionally attend religious services as an expression of faith or civic commitment,” the NGO, headquartered in Madrid, said in a statement.

The report also condemns “Prohibition of Holy Week processions in some parts of the country, such as El Vedado (Havana City). Or Bayamo, where the most infamous protests took place on March 17.

The Cuban regime is blamedUse “monitoring and control systems”. Restricting or harassing any public expression, especially political, of those who undertake a civic commitment to the values ​​of their faith.

According to the organization, “there were frequent repressive measures in this area Arbitrary arrests and siege of family homes Attendance at Sunday meetings should be prohibited.

He cited the specific case of the opposition Ladies in White, “women who have been the victims of hundreds of anti-religious actions against freedom of worship in general”.

The report cites a 2023 study on religious freedom conducted by the NGO. “68% of Cubans consulted know someone who professes a religion and has been persecuted, oppressed, threatened or banned in their daily lives for reasons related to their faith.”

For their part, organizers and protesters listened in Miami The UN expelled the Cuban regime from the Human Rights CouncilArguing that these rights are being perpetuated on the Caribbean island, it has called on the international community to “boycott” the country at the same time.

The Center for an Independent Cuba today condemned the island's “record of human rights violations” and asked the UN to expel the country from the Geneva-based council, now known as the Universal Periodic Review (EPU). to Cuba.

Echoing similar calls by Amnesty and Penn International, the organization organized a meeting with journalists in South Florida at which Rufina Velázquez, the daughter of a jailed Cuban opposition figure, gave her testimony. RAMON VELASQUEZ TORONZO.

Velázquez Torenzo was arrested in Santiago de Cuba on March 10 after he left the national sanctuary of the Ermita de la Caritat del Cobre in the province of Cuba “in the form of his faith and in his appeal to the Cuban people”. Explained to the company EFE She is the daughter.

“They took him out of this religious institution by force, with handcuffs, in his underwear. They kept him unknown for a week in a place we don't know,” Rufina explained.

The daughter explained that Cuban security forces are offering to return her father to the United States, where he has legal residency but has been deported.

Refusing to accept the extradition option, the opposition went on a 13-day fast. At the State Security National Headquarters known as Villa Marista.

Velázquez Torenzo, a well-known opponent of the Cuban regime for more than 30 years, was a political prisoner between 2007 and 2010.

“We urge the international community to unite with us against this repressive regime that continues to imprison its people for expressing dissent,” he said. Rufina VelasquezHe demanded the immediate release of his father, “without deportation and without conditions, as they have no judicial basis to imprison him.”

For its part, Regis IglesiasA former political prisoner and spokesman for the Christian Liberation Movement founded by the late leader Osvaldo BayaIt called for a boycott of the “communist regime of Cuba” by international organizations.

He lamented that the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU) were maintaining an “ambiguous policy” on the “regime” even as repression took place, and joined calls for the international community to show solidarity with the Cuban people.

Meanwhile, yesterday. A group has criticized Cuba for rejecting 28 of the recommendations put forward in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and other issues with prisoners for political reasons and suppressing dissent.

A group of nine committees sent reports to the UPR -Among them Cubalex, Article 19, Justicia 11J and Penn International- They aired their position on the day the final report of the UN Human Rights Council's working group on this mechanism was approved.

This United Nations document states that Cuba accepted 292 of the 361 recommendations made to it – mostly from other states – while it took 41 into account and rejected 28.

“The rejection of 28 recommendations related to the rights to freedom of expression and association highlights the Cuban authorities' lack of commitment to international obligations related to human rights,” the NGOs pointed out in their note.

(with information from EFE)