HAVANA, CUBA.- He Cuban Prisons Documentation Center recorded a total of 130 complaints of violations of prisoners’ rights during the past month of July in the days before and after the anniversary of the 11J proteststhe NGO reported in a report.
The documented acts occurred against 94 inmates in Cuban prisons, the organization said, detailing that among the punishment strategies applied to prisoners who went on hunger strike to commemorate 11J or to prevent any protest were: temporary transfers to other provinces, sending to punishment cells, prohibition of wearing white or black clothing and threats.
Of the 130 complaints, 108 involve some form of harassment or intimidation of prisoners, 42 relate to health conditions and poor medical care, 15 to criminal and administrative proceedings, 12 to beatings and physical torture, and 11 to transfers within penitentiary establishments or other prisons. In addition, the center also documented 27 other types of violations of prisoners’ rights, sanctioned in international instruments.
Among the inmates who were victims of the greatest number of harassment actions are: Maikel Puig Bergolla (Quivicán and Melena del Sur Prison, Mayabeque), Carlos Michael Morales Rodríguez (Guamajal Prison, Villa Clara), Roberto Pérez Fonseca (Quivicán Prison and Ganuza Prison, Mayabeque) and Onaikel Infante Abreu (Combinado del Este).
The complaints relate to 40 penitentiary centres in 14 Cuban provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
The provinces with the highest number of recorded events were Havana, with 30; Camagüey, with 21; and Mayabeque, with 14. Among the prisons, Combinado del Este in Havana, with 18; the Guanajay prison in Artemisa, with 8; the Provincial Prison of Las Tunas, with 7; and the Quivicán prison, in Mayabeque, also with 7.
The NGO clarified that these figures constitute “a significant under-reporting of the violations that actually occur, due to the impossibility of civil society organizations to access prisons, as well as the repression and strict control of information exercised by prison authorities.”
Prisoners in poor health
He Cuban Prisons Documentation Center The report also documented the cases of 27 inmates in the report “Persons deprived of liberty with delicate health conditions.” The report highlighted that they all have in common the lack of medicines and adequate medical care. In addition, the health problems of these people are aggravated by the “poor diet” that generates the proliferation of diseases such as Oropouche, dengue, tuberculosis, diarrhea, scabies and influenza.
Punishments and tortures
The NGO was able to obtain information that 15 inmates were taken to punishment cells for various reasons, including retaliation for going on a hunger strike, for reporting rape, or to keep them away from others while the physical signs of beatings disappear.
The report also included allegations of beatings by guards of prisoners Eliecer Funes Martín (in Kilo 9, Camagüey), who suffered a dislocated shoulder. Also beatings were Alexis Torres Galván (in Jóvenes de Occidente Prison, Havana); Yendri Pascual Cervantes (in Guantánamo Provincial Prison) and Onaikel Infante Abreu (in Combinado del Este).
The Cuban Prison Documentation Center included in its report several cases of torture inflicted on prisoners. In the case of Onaikel Infante (Combinado del Este) he was tortured with handcuffs; and Leosbel Pérez Carbonell (Kilo 7, Camagüey) who was subjected to the torture known as “el potro” (handcuffs are placed on the hands and feet, and then the prisoner is beaten).
