An ongoing tragedy in Cuba’s prisons
Cuba Archive
July 28, 2020
To date, Cuba Archive has documented 1,111 deaths in custody. You may search the database for individual records by name, year, cause of death, victim type, location, etc.
As most of the attention on Cuba these days is focused on coronavirus and the economic crisis, we are very concerned over the situation in Cuba’s prisons. Cuba Archive recently received a report of six suicides in three prisons from the hundreds detention centers that exist in Cuba. This information was collected by brave human rights activists inside Cuba in telephone calls with prisoners in those facilities. Because all calls are monitored, the inmates who reported the deaths of their fellow prisoners were severely punished with 21 days in isolation cells, a restriction on family visits, the suppression of certain prisoner “rights” established by the National Directorate of Prisons, and a prohibition from further telephone communications. We will not reveal our sources here to avoid further reprisals to those involved.
We have long feared that the number of unreported deaths in custody is very high. However, reported extrajudicial killings of persons in custody have diminished in recent years. Perhaps the increasing number of Cubans with access to mobile phones and social media has made the regime more careful, perhaps our international efforts have contributed, perhaps reports are just harder to come by... However, it seems clear that the rate of suicides, reported or actual, remains very high.
Actual numbers or cause of death of persons in custody are impossible to corroborate, as there is total secrecy over this information and the Cuban government does not allow monitoring by international human rights organizations including the Red Cross. Prisoners “found dead” in their cells are often suspected victims of prison guards and their families are not provided a death certificate. Sadly, many inmates are induced into to suicide by guards and driven to take their own lives by the horrid conditions, mistreatment by the guards, excessive and frequent punishments, lacking medical attention and medication, and emotional anguish from the rigorous confinement, the separation from loved ones, and the guilt and pain of not being able to support their families in need.
To date, Cuba Archive has documented 1,111 deaths in custody (not by firing squad). as well as 13 forced disappearances of persons in detention attributed to the Castro regime (1959 to present). The aforementioned deaths include 507 extrajudicial killings, 22 in hunger strikes, 311 from denial of medical care or health conditions, and 122 suicides. This toll, however, is believed to be just a tiny fraction of actual cases, as reports from the prisons are extremely difficult to obtain. You may search the database for individual records by name, year, cause of death, victim type, location, etc.
All lives concern us, however, it should be noted that the prison population in Cuba is disproportionately black --many are accused of absurd “crimes” such as “pre-criminal social dangerousness” (a presumed proclivity to commit an offense), which is used to incarcerate young men for simply not having a job. Meanwhile, countless thousands are believed to be deprived of their liberty, often for years, for committing petty thefts, killing a cow to feed their families, and even for not wearing a face mask during the pandemic.
For some of our previous reports on deaths in custody, see our newsletter Persistent extrajudicial killings of prisoners in Cuba and our reports "How many political prisoners are there in Cuba?" and on the violations of the right to life, including of individuals in custody, for the United Nations.
A plea to the international community
We call on governments, international agencies and organizations, as well as persons of influence (politicians, celebrities, human rights activists, etc.) to help protect the lives of persons in custody in Cuba and to condition political and economic engagement with Cuba as well as assistance to having this abhorrent situation corrected. Following are some suggestions on concrete actions that ought to be demanded from Cuba:
Ensure Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and allow international human rights organizations to monitor conditions as well as conduct periodic visits without prior notice to inspect any prisons or detention facilities, with guaranteed access without impediments.
Establish an independent national human rights institution in Cuba conformity with the Paris Principles.
Issue standing invitations to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, making sure these include free interactions with victims and families of victims, members of Cuba’s independent civil society, and human rights' defenders.
Demand ratification by Cuba of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and for its internal legislation to be harmonized with all international human rights instruments protecting the rights of persons in custody.