(RightWing.org) – A shocking new report has revealed ongoing abuse of political prisoners by Cuba’s communist regime. Since Fidel Castro’s death, Cuba has tried to present a less authoritarian image — but behind the scenes, it seems to be as brutal as ever.
On May 30, Prisoners Defenders, a Spanish human rights organization focused on the welfare of prison inmates in Latin America and Asia, released a report detailing torture in Cuba. Based on first-hand accounts from witnesses, it reveals systematic abuse of people imprisoned for “crimes,” including disrespect to the Communist revolution.
According to the report, prisoners in Cuba don’t have access to independent attorneys because all attorneys in the country are under the authority of the Communist Party. That means they have nobody to protect their rights — and, predictably, those rights are regularly violated. In fact, out of 168 cases examined for the report, all of them had been subjected to torture.
Among the crimes inflicted on prisoners were deprivation of medical care, use of stress positions, poisons, deprivation of food, water and sleep and “use of temperature as a torture mechanism.” Prison guards also made rape threats, mainly to women but also to men.
One woman, arrested in 2021 at the age of 17 for being close to a protest, was beaten so badly that she lost partial hearing in one ear. Guards also threatened to put her in a cell with two male rapists. Other prisoners allege that guards set dogs on inmates and threatened to abuse their families.
In 1995, Cuba finally signed and ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture, but in practice, not much seems to have changed. The regime still imprisons people because it doesn’t like their political opinions, and once there, it still subjects them to abuse. Since 2021, opposition to the regime has become more widespread; instead of listening to the protesters, the communists are cracking down harder, so things aren’t likely to improve anytime soon.
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