Last Updated on July 29, 2020, 3:38 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Human Rights Watch said that the Cuban authorities had committed numerous human rights violations in June this year against the people who organized a protest over police violence, effectively suppressing the demonstration which includes killing of people .
Many Cubans have planned to gather in Havana and other parts of the country on June 30 to protest against the June 24 killing of 27-year-old Hansel Ernesto Hernández Galiano by the police officers in Havana.
Cuban authorities have said that the policemen had found Hernández Galiano stealing and they shot him as he was fleeing the scene and throwing stones at the police officers.
Before the planned protest, Cuban authorities detained and harassed numerous people, and accused some people of committing the crime of spreading the epidemic.
Some dissidents have reported that their data and cellphone and phone service were interrupted at the beginning of the morning of June 30.
It is what appeared to be targeting restrictions. The protest was suppressed effectively and did not take place.
Americas director at Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, said that detaining people arbitrarily to prevent them from demonstrating peacefully shows that the Cuban government is willing to do to stop critical voices from being heard.
He said that a part of a broader pattern in which Cuban authorities will find any excuse, in this case, the pandemic for treating the dissent as a crime, rather than establishing ways to allow the peaceful protests to occur safely.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 15 people by way of telephone in Cuba, including journalists, victims of abuse and harassment and local human rights defenders.
Human Rights Watch also corroborated and reviewed videos posted on social media, publications by news houses and local human rights groups.
June 30, when the protest was scheduled to take place, was one of the last days of a lockdown, which included strict legal restrictions on going outdoors, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus in Havana.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
