June 18, 2012

UN PANEL DEMANDS DATA ON POLITICAL PRISONERS

Posted by - No Comments
Filed under: Political Briefs

A UN panel on torture is demanding that Cuba provide information on the deaths of several political prisoners, the repression of dissident groups such as the Ladies in White and the 2,400 arrests of government critics reported last year.

The Miami Herald said the demand came May 23 — the same day Cuba’s Granma newspaper and Prensa Latina news agency published reports defending the island’s prison system, which faces allegations of “slave labor” in the 1980s and other current abuses.

Members of the Geneva-based UN Committee Against Torture asked the Castro regime to explain the recent deaths of dissidents Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Wilman Villar after lengthy prison hunger strikes, and that of Juan Wilfredo Soto after an alleged beating by security officials.

Complaints that Cuban prisons are plagued by overcrowding, malnutrition, bad hygiene, and beatings for those who protest and forced exile for others have been received in Geneva, said panel member George Tugushi.

Cuba also has been asked to explain “aggressions and harassments” against the Ladies in White, bloggers Yoani Sánchez and Orlando Luis Pardo and Zapata’s mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo.

Don't miss out

Become a Digital Subscriber and continue to access all the exclusive and insightful reporting you'll only find in Cuba News.

Subscribe Now - Get 30 days Free

To add a comment please