The Cuban Human Rights Observatory (OCDH) reported on Thursday that lawyers have been turned away in the police stations in the Caribbean state. The courts should also remain closed for a week so that no applications could be made during that time. Demonstrators are meanwhile arrested arbitrarily and violently. Those who are released are forced to stay at home.
The OCDH was founded in Spain by formerly imprisoned Cuban dissidents. Your information from Cuba comes from a network of on-site observers.
On Sunday, thousands of Cubans demonstrated in numerous cities for freedom, against oppression and an economy of scarcity. Such protests had not taken place there for decades. Cuba’s economy is suffering heavily from the slump in tourism in the pandemic as well as from US sanctions. There is a lack of food and medicines. In addition, the corona numbers have recently increased significantly.
Although internet access had mostly been blocked since Sunday, numerous videos of protests and violence by the security forces were gradually spread on social media. The authoritarian government said it was a violent unrest instigated by the United States. President Miguel Díaz-Canel called for people to defend the Cuban revolution in the streets.
There was no official information on the number of arrests. Lists that were kept on the Internet of people whose whereabouts were unknown contained more than 300 names. The government-critical news portal 14ymedio, citing reports from the population, reported that more than 5,000 people had been arrested – including numerous activists and journalists. The government has reported one death so far, with a few more suspected.