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Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/wha/index.cfm?docid=751
February 2001
Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by President Fidel
Castro, who is Chief of State, Head of Government, First Secretary
of the Communist Party, and commander-in-chief of the armed
forces. President Castro exercises control over all aspects
of life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass
organizations, the government bureaucracy, and the state security
apparatus. The Communist Party is the only legal political
entity, and President Castro personally chooses the
membership of the Politburo, the select group that heads
the party. There are no contested elections for the
601-member National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP),
which meets twice a year for a few days to rubber stamp
decisions and policies already decided by the Government.
The Party controls all government positions, including
judicial offices. The judiciary is completely subordinate
to the Government and to the Communist Party.
The Ministry of Interior is the principal organ of state
security and totalitarian control. Officers of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces (FAR), which are led by President Castro's brother,
Raul, have been assigned to the majority of key positions
in the Ministry of Interior in recent years. In addition to
the routine law enforcement functions of regulating migration
and controlling the Border Guard and the regular police forces,
the Interior Ministry's Department of State Security
investigates and actively suppresses opposition and
dissent. It maintains a pervasive system of vigilance
through undercover agents, informers, the rapid response
brigades, and the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution (CDR's). The Government traditionally uses the
CDR's to mobilize citizens against dissenters, impose
ideological conformity, and root out "counterrevolutionary"
behavior. During the early 1990's, economic problems reduced
the Government's ability to reward participation in the CDR's
and hence the willingness of citizens to participate in them,
thereby lessening the CDR's effectiveness. Other mass
organizations also inject government and Communist Party
control into citizens' daily activities at home, work, and
school. Members of the security forces committed serious
human rights abuses.
The Government continued to control all significant means
of production and remained the predominant employer, despite
permitting some carefully controlled foreign investment in
joint ventures with it. Foreign companies are required to
contract workers only through Cuban state agencies, which
receive hard currency payments for the workers' labor but
in turn pay the workers a fraction of this (usually 5 percent)
in local currency. In 1998 the Government retracted some of
the changes that had led to the rise of legal nongovernmental
business activity when it further tightened restrictions on
the self-employed sector by reducing the number of categories
allowed and by imposing relatively high taxes on self-employed
persons. In September the Minister of Labor and Social
Security publicly stated that more stringent laws should
be promulgated to govern self-employment. He suggested
that the Ministry of Interior, the National Tax Office,
and the Ministry of Finance act in a coordinated fashion
in order to reduce "the illegal activities" of
the many self-employed. According to government officials,
the number of self-employed persons as of September was
156,000, a decrease from the 166,000 reported in 1999.
According to official figures, the economy grew 5.6 percent
during the year. Despite this, overall economic output remains
below the levels prior to the drop of at least 35 percent
in gross domestic product that occurred in the early 1990's
due to the inefficiencies of the centrally controlled economic
system; the loss of billions of dollars of annual Soviet bloc
trade and Soviet subsidies; the ongoing deterioration of plants,
equipment, and the transportation system; and the
continued poor performance of the important sugar sector.
The 1999-2000 sugar harvest (just over 4 million tons) was
marginally better than the 1998-99 harvest. The 1997-98
harvest was considered the worst in more than 50 years.
For the tenth straight year, the Government continued its
austerity measures known as the "special period in
peacetime." Agricultural markets, legalized in 1994,
provide consumers wider access to meat and produce,
although at prices beyond the reach of most citizens living
on peso-only incomes or pensions. Given these conditions,
the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in remittances
from the exile community significantly helps those who receive
dollars to survive. Tourism remained a key source of revenue
for the Government. The system of so-called tourist apartheid
continued, with foreign visitors who pay in hard currency
receiving preference over citizens for food, consumer products,
and medical services. Most citizens remain barred from tourist
hotels, beaches, and resorts.
The Government's human rights record remained poor. It continued
to violate systematically the fundamental civil and political
rights of its citizens. Citizens do not have the right to
change their government peacefully. There were unconfirmed
reports of extrajudicial killings by the police, and reports
that prisoners died in jail due to lack of medical care. Members
of the security forces and prison officials continued to
beat and otherwise abuse detainees and prisoners. The
Government failed to prosecute or sanction adequately
members of the security forces and prison guards who
committed abuses. Prison conditions remained harsh. The
authorities continued routinely to harass, threaten,
arbitrarily arrest, detain, imprison, and defame human
rights advocates and members of independent professional
associations, including journalists, economists, doctors,
and lawyers, often with the goal of coercing them into
leaving the country. The Government used internal and
external exile against such persons, and it offered political
prisoners the choice of exile or continued imprisonment. The
Government denied political dissidents and human rights advocates
due process and subjected them to unfair trials. The Government
infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The Government denied
citizens the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association. It limited the distribution of foreign
publications and news, reserving them for selected party
faithful, and maintained strict censorship of news and
information to the public. The Government restricts some
religious activities but permits others. Before and after
the January 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II, the
Government permitted some public processions on feast
days, and reinstated Christmas as an official holiday;
however, it has not responded to the papal appeal that the
Church be allowed to play a greater role in society. During
the year, the Government allowed two new priests to enter
the country (as professors in a seminary) and another two
to replace two priests whose visas were not renewed. However,
the applications of many priests and religious workers remained
pending, and some visas were issued for periods of only 3
to 6 months. The Government kept tight restrictions on freedom
of movement, including foreign travel. The Government was
sharply and publicly antagonistic to all criticism of its
human rights practices and discouraged foreign contacts with
human rights activists. Violence against women, especially
domestic violence, and child prostitution are problems. Racial
discrimination occurs. The Government severely restricted
worker rights, including the right to form independent unions.
The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children;
however, it requires children to do farm work without
compensation during their summer vacation.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of politically motivated killings.
There were unconfirmed reports of deaths due to the excessive
use of force by the national police.
On October 6, according to a report by the Agencia de Prensa
Libre Oriental (APLO--an independent news agency), a policeman
shot 41-year-old Leovigildo Oliva, from El Poblado, Dos Caminos
de San Luis, Santiago province, as he was returning home in
the early morning on horseback carrying a bag of animal feed.
Oliva was taken to the hospital and died a few hours later.
No explanation was given for the shooting.
On December 28, 27-year-old Leonardo Horta Camacho was shot
and killed. According to some reports, Horta apparently was
shot while trying to steal a pig; a policeman reportedly told
Horta's girlfriend that he was accidentally shot while struggling
with a policeman. Another version was that police thought
Horta was one of two escaped prisoners that they were searching
for.
Government sanctions against perpetrators were light or nonexistent
in the cases of deaths due to excessive use of force that
occurred in 1998. There was no information available about
the results of any investigations into the 1998 deaths of
Wilfredo Martinez Perez, Yuset Ochoterena, and Reinery Marrera
Toldedo.
During the year, there were reports that prisoners died in
jail due to lack of medical care (see Section 1.c.).
In 1996 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
issued its final report on the Government's July 1994 sinking
of the 13th of March tugboat, which killed 41 persons. The
IACHR ordered the Government to indemnify the survivors and
the relatives of the victims for the damages caused. At year's
end, the Government still had not done so. The Government
detained a number of human rights activists to prevent them
from participating in a Mass in memory of the victims on the
anniversary of the deaths (see Sections 1.d. and 2.c.).
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
The Constitution prohibits abusive treatment of detainees
and prisoners; however, there were instances in which members
of the security forces beat and otherwise abused human rights
advocates, detainees, and prisoners. There were numerous reports
of disproportionate police harassment of black youths (see
Section 5).
On January 22, Communist Party members attacked members of
the Sigler Amaya family in their home in Pedro Betancourt,
in the province of Matanzas, in the presence of police officers.
The family was concluding a fast for the release of two of
their family members, Guido Sigler Amaya and Ariel Sigler
Amaya, who were detained on December 15, 1999. After destroying
a number of placards, the 10 party members attacked several
persons in the family with sticks. Juan Francisco Sigler Amaya
was knocked unconscious; Miguel Sigler Amaya suffered a
broken rib; Gulliver and Ulises Sigler Gonzalez, the sons
of Juan Francisco, received lesser injuries. Party members
also beat Gloria Amaya Gonzalez, the grandmother. After
the attack, police officers entered the house and arrested
all the men in the house. The police did not arrest the
attackers. On January 23, the authorities released Juan
Rogelio "Yeyo" Gonzalez, Juan Francisco
Martinez, and Miguel Sigler Amaya but fined them for
disturbing the peace and causing public disorder. At
year's end, the Government had not sanctioned any of the
Communist Party members for this attack. Police released Guido
Sigler Amaya on July 9, and Airel Sigler Amaya on August 5.
On July 13, Ernesto La O Ramos of the "Maximo Gomez National
Civic Movement," reportedly planned to place flowers in a
nearby river in commemoration of the death of 41 persons,
who died in the sinking of the 13th of March tugboat in 1994.
A policeman warned La O Ramos not to go to the river. When
he refused, the policeman brought him to the police station.
On the way to the police station, La O Ramos greeted a
friend, and the policeman reportedly interpreted this as
an indication that La O Ramos intended to run away. The
officer hit La O Ramos in the face, fracturing his nose
and breaking his eye glasses. La O Ramos was cited for
disrespect and his trial on August 3 was postponed until
further notice. However, on September 29, the judge
dismissed the charges against La O Ramos.
The Government continued to subject persons who disagree
with it to acts of repudiation. At government instigation,
members of state-controlled mass organizations, fellow workers,
or neighbors of intended victims are obliged to stage public
protests against those who dissent with the Government's policies,
shouting obscenities and often causing damage to the homes
and property of those targeted; physical attacks on the victims
sometimes occur. Police and state security agents are
often present but take no action to prevent or end the
attacks. Those who refuse to participate in these actions
face disciplinary action, including loss of employment.
During the year, there were no massive acts of repudiation
directed against the homes of individual human rights activists;
however, there were smaller-scale acts of repudiation, known
as "reuniones relampagos," or rapid repudiations. These
acts are conducted by a small number of persons, usually
not from the person's neighborhood, and can last up to 30
minutes. These individuals shout epithets and throw stones
or other objects at the target's house. For example, in
the early morning on June 21, a small group of persons
threw stones, tomatoes, and eggs for about 10 minutes at
the home of Yvette Rodriguez Manzanares in Santiago de
Cuba. Rodriguez is a member of Followers of Chibas
Movement (MSC).
On the night of August 12, unknown persons threw stones at
the house of Nelson Parra Polanco, a member of the Democratic
Solidarity Party in Manzanillo in the province of Granma.
On September 27, just before midnight, an unknown number of
persons entered the yard of the house of Isabel del Pino,
president of the Association of Humanitarian Followers of
Christ the King, and knocked loudly on her door. The crowd
also shouted abusive language, such as "Down with the Worm"
("Abajo la gusanera"), "Let the worms leave"
("Que se vayan los gusanos"), etc.
Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life threatening,
and conditions in detention facilities also are harsh. The
Government claims that prisoners have rights, such as family
visitation, adequate nutrition, pay for work, the right to
request parole, and the right to petition the prison director.
However, police and prison officials often denied these rights
in practice, and beat, neglected, isolated, and denied medical
treatment to detainees and prisoners, including those
convicted of political crimes or those who persisted in
expressing their views. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported
that in February 1999, the Government revised the Penal
Code to provide that prisoners cannot be subjected to
corporal punishment, nor is it permitted to employ any
means against them to humiliate them or to lessen their
dignity. However, the revised code failed to establish
penalties for committing such acts.
The Government regularly violated prisoners' rights by failing
to provide adequate nutrition and medical attention. On June
1, APLO reported that Marcelo Diosdado Amelo Rodriguez, imprisoned
in Boniato, was not receiving medicine for hypertension and
circulatory problems. In June the Inter-American Press
Association (IAPA) called on the Government to provide
medical treatment to two journalists serving prison
sentences. The two journalists suffered from hepatitis and
serious influenza, and the IAPA feared that one might
contract tuberculosis. On July 27, an independent press
agency reported the death of common prisoner Lucia Castelua
Padron because prison authorities did not transfer her to
a hospital to receive treatment for hepatitis. In 1997 the
IACHR described the nutritional and hygienic situation in
the prisons, together with the deficiencies in medical
care, as "alarming." Both the IACHR and the former U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Cuba, as well as other human rights monitoring
organizations, reported the widespread incidence in prisons
of tuberculosis, scabies, hepatitis, parasitic infections,
and malnutrition.
On April 10, over 100 prisoners in Prison 1580, located in
the Havana City municipality of San Miguel del Padron, protested
the lack of medical attention and requested better prison
conditions. On May 3, a number of prisoners reportedly rioted
in Kilo 7, a prison in Camaguey, and requested better medical
treatment, better food, and personal respect. Special police
forces apparently attacked the prisoners and terminated the
strike, an action that resulted in 20 prisoners being
hospitalized.
Prison guards and state security officials also subjected
human rights and prodemocracy activists to threats of physical
violence; to systematic psychological intimidation; and to
detention or imprisonment in cells with common and violent
criminals, sexually aggressive inmates, or state security
agents posing as prisoners.
There are separate prison facilities for women and for minors.
Prison officials regularly denied prisoners other rights,
such as the right to correspondence, and continued to confiscate
medications and food brought by family members for political
prisoners. Prison authorities also routinely denied religious
workers access to detainees and prisoners.
Political prisoners are required to comply with the rules
for common criminals and often are punished severely if they
refuse. They often are placed in punishment cells and held
in isolation. Detainees and prisoners often are subjected
to repeated vigorous interrogations designed to coerce them
into signing incriminating statements, to force collaboration
with authorities, or to intimidate victims.
Vladimiro Roca Antunez, a member of the Internal Dissidents
Working Group, remains in prison, and was moved from solitary
confinement in early July to a section of the prison for common
prisoners. Prison officials denied Roca prison furloughs over
weekends, which were granted to the three other members of
the group before their release in May (see Section 1.e.).
The authorities took Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet to a prison in
Holguin, located about 450 miles from Havana where his family
lives, immediately following his 1-day trial in February.
On June 7, Biscet was placed in a "punishment cell" and could
not receive visitors nor receive food, clothes, or
publications. He was not allowed to take any reading
materials to the punishment cell, not even the Bible. The
authorities allegedly placed Biscet in a punishment cell
because he started a 6-hour fast to commemorate the 40
days of fasting that he started on June 7, 1999, in an
apartment on Tamarindo 34 in the 10th of October
municipality in Havana. On July 1, Biscet left the punishment
cell; however, authorities sent him back to the punishment
cell again when he announced his intention to fast on July
13 in honor of the Cubans who died when the 13th of March
tugboat sank in 1994. Prison authorities reportedly told Biscet
that such actions were disruptive of prison life and could
lead to violence. Biscet served 42 days in solitary confinement.
In November prison authorities punished Biscet again, this
time for protesting inadequate medical attention for 10 common
prisoners suffering from diarrhea. Guards allegedly denied
him food that his family brought and refused to allow a
scheduled family visit. Biscet still was imprisoned at
year's end.
From May 24 to June 1, political prisoners Jorge Garcia Perez
(Antunez) conducted a hunger strike to protest the lack of
medical attention, the arbitrary removal of books and literature,
including the Bible, and suspension of family visits. He
reportedly received improved treatment from prison
officials following the hunger strike.
On August 22, the parents of Jesus Joel Diaz Hernandez reported
that he was placed in a punishment cell in the provincial
prison of Canaleta in Ciego de Avila. Prison officials did
not allow him to have any literature, including the Bible.
Although no longer in solitary confinement in a punishment
cell, Francisco Chaviano Gonzalez, who was president of the
National Council for Civil Rights in Cuba and who has been
imprisoned since 1994 on charges of espionage and disrespect,
refuses to see family members until prison officials guarantee
that he can receive visits from his family members once a
month, in accordance with prison regulations. Presently Chaviano
and his wife exchange letters.
The Government does not permit independent monitoring of
prison conditions by international or national human rights
monitoring groups. The Government has refused to allow prison
visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
since 1989 and continues to refuse requests to renew such
visits.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Arbitrary arrest and detention continued to be problems,
and they remained the Government's most effective weapons
for harassing opponents. The Law of Penal Procedures requires
police to file formal charges and either release a detainee
or bring the case before a prosecutor within 96 hours of arrest.
It also requires the authorities to provide suspects with
access to a lawyer within 7 days of arrest. However, the Constitution
states that all legally recognized civil liberties can be
denied to anyone who actively opposes the decision of the
Cuban people to build socialism. The authorities routinely
invoke this sweeping authority to deny due process to those
detained on purported state security grounds.
The authorities routinely engage in arbitrary arrest and
detention of human rights advocates, subjecting them to interrogations,
threats, and degrading treatment and unsanitary conditions
for hours or days at a time. A survey by the illegal
nongovernmental organization (NGO) the Cuban Commission of
Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported that the
Government sanctioned or processed 368 persons for
political motives in 1999. Amnesty International (AI)
further recognized the increase of arrests and harassment
of dissidents at year's end, particularly around the
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
when the authorities arrested approximately 200 persons to
prevent them from participating in a celebration of that anniversary.
Human rights activists characterized this escalation as the
worst in a decade. Elizardo Sanchez Santa Cruz, president
of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation,
said that he especially was disturbed about the new and
unlawful methods that the security forces used to harass
dissidents, including the use of force when arresting
activists.
For example, the police arrested Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona,
an independent journalist, and Pedro Pablo Hernandez Mijares
during a birthday party celebration for Noel Ascanio Montero
in Guines. The police beat Rolando Arroyo, confiscated his
cassette recorder (he is an independent journalist) and $15.
Police subsequently left the two men on the side of a road,
far from Guines. The men returned to Guines and went to the
local police station to lodge a formal complaint against the
police, but instead were again driven away and left on the
road more than 20 miles away. On returning to Guines in the
early morning, Rolando Arroyo again went to the police
station, but police intercepted him and took him to the
next municipality of Guanajay.
In December 1999, police detained Jose Aguilar Hernandez
and Carlos Oquendo Rodriguez of the July 13 Movement, Diosdado
Gonzalez Marrero of the Peace, Love, and Liberty Party, and
Marcel Valenzuela Salt of the Brotherly Civic Organization
when they attempted to demonstrate during the religious festivities
in honor of St. Lazarus, near the small town of El Rincon,
near Havana. On June 13, the authorities released the four
men.
In December 1999, the authorities arrested Maritza Lugo Fernandez,
the vice president of the Democratic November 30 Party and
released her only on June 2. Maritza Lugo had been released
from jail in August 1999, then was detained various times
before her subsequent arrest in December 1999. When Maritza
Lugo was released, state security officials told her to prepare
the papers for the departure of her family, including her
husband, Rafael Ibarra Roque, who still was in jail. However,
in December the authorities again arrested Maritza Lugo and
detained her until year's end without filing charges
against her.
The authorities continued to detain human rights activists
and independent journalists for short periods, often to prevent
them from attending or participating in events related to
human rights issues. The authorities also placed such activists
under house arrest for short periods for similar reasons.
On January 13, security personnel impeded a number of human
rights activists and independent journalists from attending
the trial of independent journalist Victor Rolando Arroyo
Carmona. Victor Rolando received a 6-month jail sentence for
allegedly hoarding toys. He bought toys to distribute to poor
children on January 6. The Government confined Juan Carlos
Perez Arencibia, Feliciano Alvarez, and Cecilio Gonzalez to
their homes so that they could not attend Arroyo's trial in
Pinar del Rio. In 1996 Arroyo Carmona served a 1-year and
9 months' prison term for showing disrespect to authorities.
On January 25, police detained Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, president
of the Christian Liberation Movement and Hector Palacios Ruiz,
director of the Center for Social Studies. According to Elizardo
Sanchez Santa Cruz, the two were detained to prevent a
meeting from taking place at Palacios' house regarding "All
United," a document that was issued just before the
Ninth Ibero-American Summit in November 1999 in Havana. The
police also detained a number of other dissidents,
including Jose Orlando Gonzalez Bridon, Secretary General
of the Confederation of the Democratic Workers Union of
Cuba, and an independent journalist; all were released the
same afternoon. Police had detained Bridon on January 20
and questioned him about his journalistic activities.
State Security officers detained human rights activists and
independent journalists, including Alejandro Chang of the
Movement of Fraternal Brothers for Dignity; Nelson Aquiar
Ramirez of the Orthodox Party, Maria A. Garcia Delgado of
the Movement of 24 February, Carlos Alberto Dominguez of the
November 30 Democratic Party, Carlos Rios of Change 2000,
Clara Morales Martinez of the July 13 Movement, Angel Polanco,
Rafael Peraza, Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez Amaro, and Jose
Antonio Fornaris Ramos to make sure they did not attend the
1-day public trial of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Eduardo Diaz
Fleitas, and Fermin Scull Zulueta, which took place on February
25 in Havana. In addition, the authorities told many dissidents
and independent journalists not to attend. The authorities
ordered prominent dissident Jesus Yanez Pelletier not to
leave his house, and placed guards outside to ensure
compliance. Others who were ordered to stay in their homes
were Maria Esther Suarez Valdes of the Confederation of
Democratic Workers Union of Cuba; Ileana Gonzalez of the
Democratic Party November 30; Ruben Camalleri of the
Movement of February 24; Carlos Raul Jimenez Carrero of
Nationalist Agenda; and Odilia Collazo Valdes of the
Pro-Human Rights Party of Cuba. The authorities placed
independent journalists Omar Rodriguez Saludes and Jorge
Olivera Castillo under 1-day house arrest.
On May 24, security police detained four human rights activists
who were on their way to deliver a letter requesting better
prison conditions for political prisoners to prison authorities
in Vedado, Havana. The letter also protested Dr. Biscet's
incarceration 450 miles away from his family. Police detained
Armando Dominguez and Iosvani Aquilar Camejo of the Movement
of Fraternal Brothers for Dignity, and Alejandro Chang
Cantillo and Marlon Cabrera of the Brotherly Civic
Movement. On October 23, the police released Marlon
Cabrera Rivero and Alejandro Chang Cantillo; they released
Armando Dominguez Gonzalez on October 20 and Iosvani
Aquilar Camejo on October 30. The authorities also fined
Aguilar Camejo about $30 (600 pesos) for disturbing the
peace in the prison.
On June 29, the police arrested Rafael Iturralde Bello, president
of the Libertad independent agricultural cooperative in Santiago
de Cuba, outside a bus station in Pinar del Rio. They arrested
Iturralde before he could meet with other members of the
National Association of Independent Farmers of Cuba in
Pinar del Rio. They released Iturralde 24 hours later and
placed him on a bus to Santiago de Cuba.
As in previous years, on July 13, police prevented activists
from commemorating in any way the 1994 incident in which 41
persons drowned when the Border Guard sank the 13th of March
tugboat (see Section 1.a.). Beginning on July 12, police detained
activists in a number of provinces, and ordered others to
remain in their homes on July 13. The authorities told dissidents
that if they did not obey they would be prosecuted for
illegal assembly and distribution of enemy propaganda, or
for incitement to rebellion. In Santiago de Cuba, more
than 80 state security agents reportedly attacked about 30
dissidents who had thrown bouquets of flowers into the
ocean in honor of those who died in 1994. State Security
agents allegedly also beat women in the group. Security
agents accused the dissidents of being thieves and
delinquents (see Section 2.b.).
On July 21, the authorities also prevented activists in Santiago
de Cuba, including independent journalist Luis Alberto Rivera
and Fidel Soria Torres and Ivette Rodriguez Manzanares of
the MSC, from attending the trial of Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina
and Eddy Alfredo Mena Gonzalez of the Movement of Cuban Youth
for Democracy. The two men were charged with disrespect,
causing damages, and causing public disorder. On August
15, the court gave Rodriguez a 6-year prison sentence and
sentenced Mena to 5 years in prison (see Section 1.e.).
On September 8, security police ordered a number of human
rights activists not to attend the annual procession in honor
of the Virgin of Charity (see Section 2.c.).
The Penal Code includes the concept of "dangerousness," defined
as the "special proclivity of a person to commit crimes,
demonstrated by his conduct in manifest contradiction of
socialist norms." If the police decide that a person
exhibits signs of dangerousness, they may bring the
offender before a court or subject him to therapy or
political reeducation. Government authorities regularly
threaten prosecution under this article. Both the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and the IACHR have
criticized this concept for its subjectivity, the summary
nature of the judicial proceedings employed, the lack of legal
safeguards, and the political considerations behind its application.
According to the IACHR, the so-called special inclination
to commit crimes referred to in the Criminal Code amounts
to a subjective criterion used by the Government to justify
violations of the rights to individual freedom and due process
of persons whose sole crime has been an inclination to hold
a view different from the official view.
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