Between the night of July 11 and the afternoon of August 30, a group operating both inside and outside Cuba has reported—based on accounts by family, friends, acquaintances or citizens with this information–that 896 people have been arrested.
Of the 896 reported arrests, 496 have been confirmed. It has also been confirmed that 354 people have been released, while at least 30 of those released are currently under house arrest and at least another 45 have been released on bail.
Within the group there are 42 young people who are 18 years old or younger. Among them are nine minors and three 18 year-olds who remain under arrest.
There has been official recognition of 67 people who have been sentenced in summary trials, while only one person has been absolved. Of those 67, 34 have been identified. And of those identified who have made appeals, three have been fined and released, two have been placed under house arrest, five have been sentenced to correctional labor either inside or outside prison facilities .
The main crimes they have been charged with include:
Public disorder, 231.
Contempt of court, 89.
Inciting crime, 80.
Assault, 76.
Propagating contagious diseases, 66.
Resisting arrest, 55.
Although up until August 31 in Havana there had been only 255 recorded arrests, publicly available data revealed by those released mentioned the existence of up to 800 people in the only detention center in the province. It’s possible that this reality could correspond to other centers not only in Havana, but in other provinces in the country.
At this time, the majority of people who have been freed from prison are artists, activists, university students, or journalists. Nevertheless, there are at least one hundred activists still being held and a new law of “information security” has raised the surveillance and repression of the Cuban people.
It is important that we join in strengthening the campaign for immediate release of those imprisoned, not only in Cuba, but also in Chile and Colombia where hundreds of activists continued to be deprived of their liberty.
Join us in fighting for the freedom of those imprisoned. Sign the petition.
https://www.change.org/p/miguel-d%C3%ADaz-canel-berm%C3%BAdez-justicia-para-los-manifestantes-del-11j?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=e513da10-fb24-11eb-8d97-ede7b2c24f10
First published in Spanish here on August 31, 2021
Cuba| Petition Campaign to Free Those Imprisoned for Engaging in the Struggle!
