RIGHTS: More Than 400 Political Prisoners Held in Cuba

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Jul 7 1998 (IPS) - The number of political prisoners in Cuba has fallen dramatically in the last two years, but around 400 opponents are still being held, said the outlawed Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CDHRC) Tuesday.

“Two years ago there were more than a thousand political prisoners on our registers. In January this year the number had fallen to around 500,” said leader of the opposition group, Elizardo Sanchez Santa Cruz.

The partial list of political and socio-political prisoners shown to IPS included 381 cases confirmed by close relatives and an annex with 79 alleged political prisoners on whom no recent information is available.

Around 30 percent of the 381 confirmed prisoners are thought to be prisoners of conscience, according to CDHRC estimates.

Sanchez classed the tendency to reduce the numbers of political prisoners as a positive trend, but, at the same time, considered the figure to be high for a country like Cuba “which has little violence or internal political instability.”

More than 90 members of the opposition were benefitted in February when the Fidel Castro administration responded to a request for pardons made by Pope John Paul II on his visit to the island in January.

The government response led to the freeing of 299 people, including political and common prisoners, 224 of them freed on humanitarian bases, according to a declaration by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations.

At the same time, the leading party newspaper, Granma stated a further 70 people included in the papal request, will not be freed on any grounds “for reasons of national security, the dangerousness of the prisoners and the seriousness of the crimes committed.”

The CDHRN list, which is drawn up every six months, is the only source of information available on political prisoners on the island.

These prisoners include one man on death row, and 16 awaiting trial, including four members of the Internal Dissidence Working Group who will be completing a year in custody next week.

Martha Beatriz Roque, Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne and Rene Gomez Manzano have been in prison since the publication of their document “The Country Belongs to Everyone” (La Patria es de todos), written in response to a ruling Communist Party report.

A request for the freedom of the group was lodged by the Vatican Catholic education prefect, Cardinal Pio Lagui, during his visit to the island toward the end of last month, but he was given no reply.

Then there is Humberto Real Suarez, detained in October 1994 and sentenced to death for murder and other attacks on State security. His case is currently awaiting an appeal in the People’s High Court.

Those awaiting trial include the Salvadoran Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, accused of five terrorist acts against Cuban tourist installations last year, one of which killed an Italian businessman.

Grounds for political and politico-social crimes include hostile acts against a foreign country, piratry, rebellion, illicit association, illegal leaving of the country and attacks on State security.

Sanchez stated more than 100 government opponents have been freed this year and “levels of political repression have fallen” although government authority “remains intact, along with its enormous capacity for social control.”

“I hope the Cuban authorities will continue with the releases in a more resolute and sustained manner,” concluded the CDHRN leader.

The commission has been applying for Non Governmental Association status from the Cuban government since 1997.

In 1990, it received the prize for freedom of expression from the Interamerican Press Society, winning the Human Rights Watch International Prize in 1991 and the French Republic Prize for Human Rights in 1996.