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Amnesty International demanded this Wednesday the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Cuba and the definitive cessation of repression, warning that the recent announcements of releases and pardons by the regime are characterized by opacity and discretion, without real guarantees of freedom.
A month after Cuban authorities announced the imminent release of 51 detainees, and following the mass pardon of 2,010 people announced on April 2, the organization points out that no human rights entity has been able to verify the release of any person detained for political reasons.
"Cuban authorities continue to manage freedom as if it were a discretionary concession rather than a state obligation. It is time to replace piecemeal, opaque, revocable, and guarantee-less announcements with the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights, and to put a definitive end to the use of freedom as a bargaining chip in political dealings," the entity emphasizes.
Amnesty International also documented a wave of arrests that took place in March, when at least 85 people were arrested during that month, many of whom were linked to the protests in the city of Morón, Ciego de Ávila province.
Among the highlighted cases by the organization are the members of the El4tico channel, detained since February 6, as well as the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who received direct threats from his jailers: "We are going to kill you here". Otero Alcántara also staged a hunger strike lasting eight days —from March 30 to April 6— in protest of his detention conditions.
According to data from Prisoners Defenders, Prisoners Defenders recorded 1,207 political prisoners in January, a figure that reflects the magnitude of the ongoing repression by the regime.
This context arises amid the dialogue between Cuba and the United States publicly confirmed by Miguel Díaz-Canel, which, according to Amnesty International, makes it even more urgent for the regime to show a genuine willingness to respect human rights.
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