Cuba: Release Dissidents Now

(New York, March 21, 2003) - The Cuban government should immediately and unconditionally release the political dissidents and independent journalists who have been detained in the last several days, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Cuban government has arrested scores of dissidents this week, accusing them of being involved in “conspiratorial activities” orchestrated by a top American diplomat in Havana. In the past forty-eight hours, the number of detentions has risen to over eighty, according to Cuban human rights advocates. Many fear that the detainees will be tried under a 1999 law that carries sentences of up to twenty years.

“The only crime committed by these prisoners is the promotion of ideas that are forbidden in Cuba,” said José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch.

The Cuban government continues to restrict nearly all avenues of political dissent, strictly limiting the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, movement and of the press. By making it illegal to spread “enemy propaganda,” the government has curbed freedom of speech under the guise of protecting state security.

“This latest crackdown merely shows that CubaÕs repressive machinery remains fully intact,” said Vivanco.