CUBA
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor February 25, 2004, U.S. Department of State.

Full report
Preface
Overview and Acknowledgements
Introduction

Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by Fidel Castro, who is chief of state with the titles of president, head of government, first secretary of the Communist Party, and commander in chief of the armed forces. Castro exercises control over all aspects of life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass organizations, the government bureaucracy headed by the Council of State, and the state security apparatus. In March, Castro declared his intent to remain in power for life. The Communist Party is the only legal political entity, and Castro personally chooses the membership of the Politburo, the select group that heads the party. There are no contested elections for the 609-member National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), which meets twice a year for a few days to rubber stamp decisions and policies previously decided by the governing Council of State, which Castro heads. On January 19, the Government held general elections for all 609 seats on the ANPP. The Communist 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 entity of state security and totalitarian control. Officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, which are led by Fidel Castro's brother, General Raul Castro, were assigned to the majority of key positions in the Ministry of Interior in the past several 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 investigated and actively suppressed political opposition and dissent. It maintained a pervasive system of surveillance through undercover agents, informers, rapid response brigades (RRBs), and neighborhood-based Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs). The Government traditionally has used the CDRs to mobilize citizens against dissenters, impose ideological conformity, and root out "counterrevolutionary" behavior. RRBs consisted of workers from a particular brigade (construction workers, a factory, etc.) that were organized by the Communist Party to react forcefully to any situation of social unrest. The Government on occasion used RRBs instead of the police or military during such situations. Members of the security forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses.

The economy was centrally planned, with some elements of state-managed capitalism in sectors such as tourism and mining. The country's population was approximately 11 million. The economy depended heavily on primary products such as sugar and minerals, but also on its recently developed tourism industry and emmigrant remittances. The economy performed poorly during the year, primarily due to inefficient policies. The annual sugar harvest was the smallest since 1933, partly as the result of a restructuring of the sugar industry that included the closure of half the country's sugar mills and the elimination of one-quarter of the jobs in the industry. Government officials predicted the economy would grow by 1.5 percent during the year. Government policy was officially aimed at preventing economic disparity, but persons with access to dollars enjoyed a significantly higher standard of living than those with access only to pesos. During the year, the Government repressed small-scale businesses and announced substantial new taxes for private room renters, imposing additional hardships for those operating in the country's small private sector. A system of "tourist apartheid" continued, whereby citizens were denied access to hotels, beaches, and resorts reserved for foreign tourists.

The Government's poor human rights record worsened, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government peacefully. Although the Constitution allows legislative proposals backed by at least 10,000 citizens to be submitted directly to the ANPP, in 2002, the Government rejected a petition known as the Varela Project with more than 11,000 signatures calling for a national referendum on political and economic reforms. In October, Project Varela organizers submitted a second petition to the ANPP with more than 14,000 new signatories. Communist Party-affiliated mass organizations tightly controlled elections to provincial and national legislative bodies, resulting in the selection of single, government-approved candidates. In March, the Government arrested 75 human rights activists, independent journalists, and opposition political figures on various charges, including aiding a foreign power and violating national security laws. Authorities subjected the detainees to summary trials and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 6 to 28 years.

During the year, other human rights activists were arrested for acts such as possessing and publicly displaying human rights literature, receiving money and medicine from abroad for families of political prisoners, communicating with international media organizations, and organizing meetings and demonstrations to call for political reforms. Members of the security forces and prison officials continued to beat and abuse detainees and prisoners, including human rights activists. The Government failed to prosecute or sanction adequately members of the security forces and prison guards who committed abuses. Prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening, and the Government restricted medical care to some prisoners as a method of control. Prisoners died in jail due to lack of medical care. The authorities routinely continued 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. 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 and closely monitored domestic and international journalists through physical and electronic surveillance. It limited the distribution of foreign publications and news, restricted access to the Internet, and maintained strict censorship of news and information to the public. The Government restricted some religious activities but permitted others. The Government limited the entry of religious workers to the country. The Government maintained tight restrictions on freedom of movement, including foreign travel and did not allow some citizens to leave the country. 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 were problems. Racial discrimination was a problem. The Government severely restricted worker rights, including the right to form independent unions.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of LifeThere were no political killings; however, on April 11, the Government summarily executed three persons for hijacking a ferry, following a summary trial and a perfunctory review of the death sentences.

In March, the three men, Lorenzo Copello Castillo, Barbaro Sevilla Garcia, and Jorge Martinez Isaac, were arrested for hijacking a ferry during an effort to migrate illegally. On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court began the trial and convicted the three men on April 8. On April 9, the Supreme Court rejected their appeal and the Council of State confirmed the death sentences. On April 11, the Government executed the men and did not advise their families until they had been buried. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and other international observers criticized the executions, in particular, the summary nature of the hijackers' trials and the absence of due process. The IACHR determined that the process leading up to the executions constituted "the arbitrary deprivation of life." Local human rights monitors noted the especially harsh nature of the punishments in view of the fact that no persons were injured during the hijacking.

During the year, there were reports that prisoners died in jail due to lack of medical care (see Section 1.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, members of the security forces sometimes beat and otherwise abused human rights advocates, detainees, and prisoners. The Government took no steps to curb these abuses. There continued to be numerous reports of disproportionate police harassment of black youths (see Section 5).

On January 22, police forced Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and a colleague from a bus and beat them. Ferrer was a local leader of the Christian Liberation Movement and a Project Varela organizer. In April, the Santiago Provincial Court sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment for "acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State" (see Section 1.e.).

On February 11, police in Santiago Province beat Daniel Perea Garcia of the Christian Liberation Movement and dragged him to a local police station, where he was fined and released. Perea was one of several members of the Christian Liberation Movement arrested following a series of government-organized attacks against opposition members in Santiago Province.

The Government continued to subject persons who disagreed with it to what it called acts of repudiation. At government instigation, members of state-controlled mass organizations, fellow workers, or neighbors of intended victims were obliged to stage public protests against those who dissented from the Government's policies, shouting obscenities and often causing damage to the homes and property of those targeted; physical attacks on the victims sometimes occurred. Police and state security agents often were present but took no action to prevent or end the attacks. Those who refused to participate in these actions faced disciplinary action, including loss of employment.

In January, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Granma Province and several government candidates for the January 19 ANPP elections directed several dozen persons to engage in an act of repudiation against Tania de la Torre Montesinos of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society. Government officials placed young children in front of baton-wielding adults and instructed the children to yell pro-government slogans at de la Torre.

On February 4, 100 members of an RRB attacked the home of Jesus Mustafa Felipe of the Christian Liberation Movement, shouting death threats and pro-government slogans. According to the opposition members who took refuge in Mustafa's home, several individuals sprayed a toxic pesticide into the home during the attack. On February 18, Mustafa was tried on charges of "contempt of authority" and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. In March, the authorities levied additional charges against Mustafa and sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment following a summary trial (see Section 1.e.).

There were also smaller-scale acts of repudiation, known as "reuniones relampagos" or rapid repudiations. These acts were conducted by a small number of persons, usually not from the target's neighborhood, and lasted up to 30 minutes. These individuals shouted epithets and threw stones or other objects at the victim's house.

On July 30, members of a CDR shouted pro-government slogans at fellow CDR member Olga Lidia Arbolaez Crespo for having signed the Varela petition. According to an independent journalist, Arbolaez was forced to take refuge in her home when her attackers threatened to stone her for stating that citizens needed greater political freedoms and for making other "subversive statements."

Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life threatening, and conditions in detention facilities also were harsh. The Government claimed that prisoners had 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. The Penal Code prohibits the use of corporal punishment on prisoners and the use of any means to humiliate prisoners or to lessen their dignity; however, the code fails to establish penalties for committing such acts, and they continued to occur in practice. Detainees and prisoners, both common and political, often were subjected to repeated, vigorous interrogations designed to coerce them into signing incriminating statements, to force collaboration with authorities, or to intimidate victims. Some endured physical and sexual abuse, typically by other inmates with the acquiescence of guards, or long periods in punitive isolation cells. Pretrial detainees were generally held separately from convicted prisoners, although some long-term detainees, including political detainees, were held with convicted prisoners. In Havana, there were two detention centers; once sentenced, persons were transferred to a prison.

In June, political prisoner Manuel Vazquez Portal, one of 75 activists arrested by the Government in March, reported that his cell flooded with water every day and that sewage from a latrine regularly spilled into his cell. Vazquez was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for his work as an independent journalist (see Section 2.a.).

Prisoners sometimes were held in "punishment cells," which usually were located in the basement of a prison, were semi-dark all the time, had no water available in the cell, and had a hole for a toilet. No reading materials were allowed, and family visits were reduced to 10 minutes from 1 or 2 hours. There was no access to lawyers while in the punishment cell.

On January 31, a political reeducation officer beat jailed independent journalist Carlos Brizuela Yera for having copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a report from the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Reporters Without Borders. Brizuela was arrested in March 2002 on charges of public disorder, resistance, and contempt for authority and remained jailed without trial.

On September 2, prison officials beat political prisoner Angel Ramon Eireos Rodriguez, of the February 24 Movement, with a club for demanding improved prison conditions. Eireos was jailed on February 28 and was serving a 20-month sentence on charges of "resistance" and "contempt for authority."

Prison guards and state security officials 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.

In January, political prisoner Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva reported that another inmate had entered his cell during the night and attempted to bludgeon him but fled when Gonzalez Leyva awoke. Prison authorities told Gonzalez Leyva's family that they would take steps to prevent further such incidents. Gonzalez Leyva, who is blind, was arrested in March 2002 on charges of "contempt for authority, public disorder, disobedience, and resistance." Prosecutors requested a 6-year sentence for Gonzalez, but at year's end he remained jailed without trial.

On September 18, five political prisoners at 1580 Prison in Havana went on a hunger strike to demand protection from common prisoners, who were beating political prisoners at the instigation of prison guards. On September 22, police beat two of the hunger strikers, Iosvani Aguilar Camejo and Jose Enrique Santana, to induce them to give up their protest. Aguilar and Santana were among the 300 persons rounded up by the Government in February 2002 after 21 asylum seekers used a bus to break into the Mexican Embassy.

In October, seven political prisoners at Holguin Provincial Prison went on a hunger strike to protest the beating of jailed independent journalist Ivan Hernandez Carrillo by the prison official in charge of political re-education. Prison authorities denied a request by the families of the hunger strikers to see the prisoners to assess their health and barred the prisoners from otherwise communicating with their families. Prison officials ended the protest in November by separating the hunger strikers and sending them to different prisons.

In October, the family of Leonardo Bruzon Avila reported that he would be on a hunger strike from October 10 to November 11 to demand the release of all political prisoners. State Security officials reportedly offered to release Bruzon in July if he would allow himself to be filmed conversing with them. Bruzon declined the offer, suspecting authorities would use such a film falsely to allege that he was a Government agent, and officials transferred him from a medical detention facility to a regular prison. Bruzon was jailed in February 2002 on charges of civil disobedience and, at year's end, remained jailed without trial.

On December 6, a common prisoner in Holguin Provincial Prison beat 54-year-old political prisoner Adolfo Fernandez Sainz until Ferandez was unconscious. The prisoner who carried out the beating was authorized by prison guards to exercise control over other inmates. Prison officials told Fernandez the common prisoner should have beaten him harder in order to kill him. In April, Fernandez was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for his work as an independent journalist (see Section 2.a.).

Political prisoners were required to comply with the rules for common criminals and often were punished severely if they refused. They often were placed in punishment cells and held in isolation.

On June 9, Elsa Morejon, the wife of political prisoner Oscar Elias Biscet, reported that Biscet was being held in a tiny isolation cell for refusing to wear a prison uniform. Morejon asserted that common prisoners were permitted to wear their civilian clothes and believed that Biscet was being singled out for punishment because of his political views. Biscet's cell was sealed to prevent daylight from entering, and he was not permitted to leave his cell for exercise or to have a Bible. The authorities barred Biscet from receiving visitors from March until August, when he was permitted to see his wife. Biscet's conditions improved in August, although he continued to refuse to wear the prison uniform. In November, he was placed in a punishment cell with a convicted murderer for 21 days for allegedly inciting other prisoners to demand improved treatment by prison officials and authorities again suspended family visits. In December, authorities advised Morejon that Biscet would be placed in a punishment cell indefinitely for failing to show proper deference to prison officials. Biscet was 1 of 75 political detainees subjected to summary trials in April (see Section 1.e.).

The Government regularly failed to provide adequate nutrition and medical attention, and a number of prisoners died during the year due to lack of medical attention. Both the IACHR and the former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the country, as well as other human rights monitoring organizations, have reported the widespread incidence in prisons of tuberculosis, scabies, hepatitis, parasitic infections, and malnutrition. On July 30, Amnesty International (AI) expressed concern to the Government regarding the poor health of numerous political prisoners, the limitations on family visits for some political prisoners, and the incarceration of many political prisoners far from their home provinces. The Government did not respond to AI.

In May, Miriam Leyva, the wife of jailed independent journalist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, reported that prison officials were failing to provide adequate medical treatment for Chepe, who suffers from liver disease, high blood pressure, intestinal polyps, and other illnesses. Chepe was 1 of 28 independent journalists sentenced to long prison terms in April following summary trials (see Section 2.a.). According to Leyva, Chepe lost 25 pounds due to diarrhea and lack of medical care in the weeks following his arrest, conditions aggravated by his transfer to a prison 500 miles from Havana. Prison officials refused Leyva's numerous requests to see Chepe or to provide him medication. A prison doctor informed Leyva that State Security agents, rather than medical staff, determined what medication would be administered to Chepe. In August, prison officials transferred Chepe to a military hospital in Havana, where he received improved medical care and was permitted to see his wife but remained in poor health. Leyva complained that prison officials limited her access to Chepe's doctors and kept Chepe heavily sedated.

In July, jailed independent journalist Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta reported that common prisoner Carlos Duane died of a heart attack after prison medical officials repeatedly refused to respond to Duane's complaints of chest pains.

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. Some prison directors routinely denied religious workers access to detainees and prisoners. Reading materials, including Bibles, were not allowed in punishment cells.

In September, officials at Kilo 8 Prison in Camaguey Province threatened to suspend family visits for nine political prisoners who read aloud to each other from the Bible. The nine prisoners, Eduardo Diaz Fleites, Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, Lester Gonzalez Penton, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, Regis Iglesias Ramirez, Jose Miguel Martinez, Omar Rodriguez Saludes, Claro Sanchez Altarriba, and Miguel Valdes Tamayo, were among the 75 activists and independent journalists arrested in March and sentenced to long prison terms following summary trials (see Section 1.e.).

There were separate prison facilities for women and for minors. Conditions of these prisons, especially for women, did not take into account the special needs of women. Human rights activists believed that conditions were poor.

The Government did 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.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

Arbitrary arrest and detention continued to be problems, and they remained the Government's most effective and commonly used tactics 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 people to build socialism. The authorities routinely invoked this sweeping authority to deny due process to those detained on purported state security grounds.

The Ministry of the Interior exercises control over police and internal security forces. The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) is the primary law enforcement organization and was generally effective in investigating common crimes. Specialized units of the Ministry of the Interior are responsible for monitoring, infiltrating and suppressing opposition political groups, although the PNR does play a supporting role by carrying out house searches and providing interrogation facilities for State Security agents. There were few reports of corruption, although authorities arrested several PNR officers in January on corruption charges during a crackdown on narcotics trafficking and other illegal activities.

The authorities routinely engaged 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. Police frequently lacked warrants when carrying out arrests or issued warrants themselves at the time of arrest. Authorities sometimes employed false charges of common crimes to arrest political opponents. Detainees often were not informed of the charges against them. 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 (see Sections 2.a. and 2.b.). The authorities also placed such activists under house arrest for short periods for similar reasons.

In March, authorities arrested 75 human rights activists, journalists, and opposition political figures, charging them with various crimes, including national security violations and aiding a foreign power. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern regarding the arrests and summary trials, as did many governments, international organizations, and public figures. The 75 political prisoners included 28 independent journalists, 9 independent librarians, and at least 21 persons affiliated with the Varela petition. Several of the prisoners were elderly; 21 of the prisoners were over the age of 50.

In mid-March, police arrested Regis Iglesias Ramirez of the Christian Liberation Movement on charges of "acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State." On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Iglesias, a Project Varela organizer, to 18 years' imprisonment (see Section 1.e.).

On March 18, Ministry of the Interior officials arrested poet and independent journalist Raul Rivero on charges that he carried out "acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State." On April 5, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment (see Section 2.a.).

On March 20, Ministry of the Interior officials arrested Martha Beatriz Roque of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society for acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State.

On March 25, police arrested human rights monitor Marcelo Manuel Lopez Banobre of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation after he visited a foreign embassy in Havana. The authorities subjected Lopez to a summary trial and sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment under Article 91 of the Penal Code, acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State (see Section 1.e.). He was penalized in part for his work on behalf of AI and other international human rights organizations.

Many of the 75 activists subjected to summary trials in April reported that they had little or no access to a lawyer and many were only advised of the charges against them as the trials were about to begin. For example, independent journalist Manuel Vazquez Portal was arrested on March 19 but was not able to see a lawyer until the day of his trial on April 4.

There were at least 32 political detainees awaiting trial at year's end. Most of the 32 had been held for more than 1 year.

According to relatives, approximately 9 of the 300 persons arrested near the Mexican Embassy in February 2002 remained jailed without trial at year's end.

The Government often held persons without charges for months and then released them, which avoided the spectacle of a trial.

State security police used detentions and warnings to prevent organizations around the country from performing any actions in remembrance of the four pilots killed in February 1996 by military aircraft.

The authorities sometimes detained independent journalists in order to question them about contacts with foreigners or to prevent them from covering sensitive issues or criticizing the Government (see Section 2.a.).

Time in detention before trial counted toward time served if convicted. Bail was available and usually was low and more equivalent to a fine.

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 threatened prosecution under this provision. Both the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and the IACHR criticized this tactic 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 Penal Code amounted to a subjective criterion used by the Government to justify violations of individual freedoms and due process for persons whose sole crime was to hold a view different from the official view.

The Government also used exile as a tool for controlling and eliminating internal opposition. The Penal Code permits the authorities to bar an individual from a certain area or to restrict an individual to a certain area for a period of from 1 to 10 years. Under this provision, authorities may exile any person whose presence in a given location would be "socially dangerous."

On May 23, Ministry of the Interior officers advised independent journalist Oscar Mario Gonzalez that he should not return from a planned trip to Spain. The officials warned Gonzalez that he could be jailed for 25 years if he continued to work as a journalist.

The Government pressured imprisoned human rights activists and political prisoners to apply for emigration and regularly conditioned their release on acceptance of exile. Human Rights Watch (HRW) observed that the Government routinely invoked forced exile as a condition for prisoner releases and also pressured activists to leave the country to escape future prosecution. AI expressed particular concern about the Government's practice of threatening to charge, try, and imprison human rights advocates and independent journalists prior to arrest or sentencing if they did not leave the country. According to AI, this practice "effectively prevents those concerned from being able to act in public life in their own country."

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides for independent courts; however, it explicitly subordinates the courts to the ANPP and the Council of State. The ANPP and its lower level counterparts choose all judges. The subordination of the courts to the Communist Party, which the Constitution designates as the superior directive force of society and the State, further compromises the judiciary's independence. The courts undermined the right to a fair trial by restricting the right to a defense and often failed to observe the few due process rights available to defendants.

Civilian courts existed at the municipal, provincial, and supreme court levels. Panels composed of a mix of professionally certified and lay judges presided over them. There was a right to appeal, access to counsel, and charges were generally known to the defendant, although several political detainees subjected to summary trials in April were unaware of the charges against them until moments before their trials were set to begin. Defendants enjoyed a presumption of innocence, but the authorities often ignored this right in practice.

Military tribunals assumed jurisdiction for certain counterrevolutionary cases and were governed by a special law. The military tribunals processed civilians if a member of the military was involved with civilians in a crime. There was a right to appeal, access to counsel, and the charges were known to the defendant.

The law and trial practices did not meet international standards for fair public trials. Almost all cases were tried in less than 1 day; there were no jury trials. While most trials were public, trials were closed when there were alleged violations of state security. Prosecutors may introduce testimony from a CDR member about the revolutionary background of a defendant, which may contribute to either a longer or shorter sentence. The law recognizes the right of appeal in municipal courts but limits it in provincial courts to cases such as those involving maximum prison terms or the death penalty. Appeals in capital cases are automatic. The Council of State ultimately must affirm capital punishment.

Criteria for presenting evidence, especially in cases involving human rights advocates, were arbitrary and discriminatory. Often the sole evidence provided, particularly in political cases, was the defendant's confession, usually obtained under duress and without the legal advice or knowledge of a defense lawyer (see Section 1.c.). The authorities regularly denied defendants access to their lawyers until the day of the trial. Several dissidents who served prison terms reported that they were tried and sentenced without counsel and were not allowed to speak on their own behalf.

In early April, the Government summarily tried 75 independent journalists, human rights activists, and members of the political opposition for alleged acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State or aiding a foreign power. All 75 of the detainees were arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced within a period of 20 days. On April 9, the Government asserted the 75 detainees were provided adequate legal guarantees during the trials; however, the families of the detainees disputed that assertion. Most defense attorneys for the 75 detainees had less than 24 hours to prepare for trial, and several defendants were unaware that they were going to be tried until the moment they were escorted into the courtroom. The authorities permitted small numbers of family members to attend the trials but excluded public and diplomatic observers and packed the courtrooms with regime supporters. The family of Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia of the Christian Liberation Movement was barred from the courtroom during his trial, and members of the public reportedly pushed Ferrer's 56-year-old mother to the ground as she waited outside for the verdict. Much of the evidence against the defendants consisted of unsubstantiated or unspecified allegations of activities against the Government on behalf of a foreign power and vague accusations of "counterrevolutionary" behavior. The testimony provided by 12 State Security agents infiltrated into opposition groups consisted primarily of attacks against the character of several of the defendants. In June, AI found that, "the conduct for which dissidents were prosecuted was not self-evidently criminal; it was nonviolent and appeared to fall within the parameters of the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms as provided under international standards." AI determined that all 75 jailed activists were "prisoners of conscience."

The law provides the accused with the right to an attorney, but the control that the Government exerted over the livelihood of members of the state-controlled lawyers' collectives compromised their ability to represent clients, especially when they defended persons accused of state security crimes. Attorneys reported reluctance to defend those charged in political cases due to fear of jeopardizing their own careers.

On April 4, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society to 20 years' imprisonment for "activities aimed at subverting the internal order of the Cuban State" and for allegedly receiving funds from and maintaining links to a foreign government. Prosecutors, who had requested a life sentence for Roque, failed to specify how Roque's activities had threatened the stability of the Government. Roque was arrested on March 20 while undertaking a fast to draw attention to the case of Oscar Elias Biscet and other political prisoners.

On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos of the United Cuban Workers Council to 25 years' imprisonment for acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State. Much of the evidence against Alvarez consisted of an inventory of materials in his possession, including a fax machine, fax paper, and a video camera, as well as evidence of his contacts with unions in Latin America and Europe (see Section 6.a.).

On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Antonio Diaz of the Christian Liberation Movement to 18 years' imprisonment for acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State. The sentencing document indicated that business cards found in Diaz' possession demonstrated his links to foreign diplomats and that these links, together with Diaz' comments to foreign media and his possession of "counterrevolutionary" books, constituted a grave threat to national security.

On April 8, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Oscar Elias Biscet of the Lawton Human Rights Foundation to 25 years' imprisonment for unspecified acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the State. At the time of his trial, Biscet was in detention on separate charges of public disorder stemming from his arrest in December 2002 for attempting to organize a human rights seminar. Biscet was released from prison in October 2002 after serving a 3-year sentence for "insulting the symbols of the Fatherland" and public disorder.

Human rights monitoring groups inside the country estimated the number of political prisoners to be between 300 and 400 persons. The authorities imprisoned persons on charges such as disseminating enemy propaganda, illicit association, contempt for the authorities (usually for criticizing President Castro), clandestine printing, or the broad charge of rebellion, which often was brought against advocates of peaceful democratic change. The Government did not permit access to political prisoners by human rights organizations. It continued to deny access to prisoners by the ICRC.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence

Although the Constitution provides for the inviolability of a citizen's home and correspondence, official surveillance of private and family affairs by government-controlled mass organizations, such as the CDRs, remained one of the most pervasive and repressive features of daily life. The Government employed physical and electronic surveillance against nonviolent political opponents. The State assumed the right to interfere in the lives of citizens, even those who did not oppose the Government and its practices actively. The authorities utilized a wide range of social controls. The mass organizations' ostensible purpose was to improve the citizenry, but in fact their goal was to discover and discourage nonconformity. Although official statistics indicated that CDRs have grown over the past decade and included 93.5 percent of the population over the age of 14, in reality, citizen participation in these mass organizations declined. The economic crisis both reduced the Government's ability to provide material incentives for their participation and forced many persons to engage in black market activities, which the mass organizations were supposed to report to the authorities.

The Interior Ministry employed an intricate system of informants and block committees (the CDRs) to monitor and control public opinion. While less capable than in the past, CDRs continued to report on suspicious activity, including conspicuous consumption; unauthorized meetings, including those with foreigners; and defiant attitudes toward the Government and the revolution.

The Government controlled all access to the Internet, and all electronic mail messages were subject to censorship. Dial-up Internet service was prohibitively expensive for most citizens. The Interior Ministry's Department of State Security often read international correspondence and monitored overseas telephone calls and conversations with foreigners. The Government also monitored domestic phone calls and correspondence. The Government sometimes denied telephone service to political dissidents. Cell phones generally were not available to average citizens.

In April, authorities revealed that they used hotel waiters and other nonofficial persons to monitor the conversations of regime opponents in public places. Government prosecutors used testimony by waiters at the Hotel Nacional in Havana to help convict and sentence to lengthy prison terms the 75 political opponents during summary trials in April (see Section 1.e.).

In early August, officers of the Ministry of the Interior threatened to arrest the wife of political prisoner Blas Giraldo Reyes Rodriguez if she continued to receive activists who visited her to express sympathy for the jailing of her husband. Police told Isel de las Mercedes Acosta Obregon that they would try her for violating the Law to Protect National Independence and the Economy (Law 88) (see Section 2.a.) if she did not cease "counterrevolutionary activities."

On September 5, police threatened to take the 3-month-old daughter of Milka Pena, the wife of political prisoner Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia. Police also warned Pena that they could prevent her from receiving remittances from abroad, her major source of income since the jailing of her husband in March. Police did not explain why they were threatening Pena, but she assumed it was because she had a sign on her home calling for the release of political prisoners.

There were numerous credible reports of forced evictions of squatters and residents who lacked official permission to reside in Havana. The number of forced evictions increased throughout the country during the year as the Government enforced new, stricter regulations against housing "illegalities."

On January 14, police in Santa Clara Province evicted 11 families from their houses and demolished the structures, despite the fact that the owner of the property authorized the families to settle there. The authorities gave the families 72 hours to remove their belongings before evicting them.

In late September, police evicted Hilda Machado from her home in Havana Province for building a home without the required permit. Machado complained that she previously paid a fine for building without a permit, but had been allowed to continue construction. Several dozen neighbors protested Machado's eviction but were unable to stop officials from seizing her property.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for citizens' freedoms of speech and press insofar as they "conform to the aims of socialist society"; this clause effectively bars free speech. In law and in practice, the Government did not allow criticism of the revolution or its leaders. Laws against anti-government propaganda, graffiti, and disrespect of officials impose penalties between 3 months and 1 year in prison. If President Castro or members of the ANPP or Council of State were the objects of criticism, the sentence could be extended to 3 years. Charges of disseminating enemy propaganda, which included merely expressing opinions at odds with those of the Government, could bring sentences of up to 14 years. In the Government's view, such materials as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international reports of human rights violations, and mainstream foreign newspapers and magazines constituted enemy propaganda. Local CDRs inhibited freedom of speech by monitoring and reporting dissent or criticism. Police and state security officials regularly harassed, threatened, and otherwise abused human rights advocates in public and private as a means of intimidation and control.

The Constitution states that print and electronic media are state property and can never become private property. The Communist Party controlled all media except for a few small church-run publications. The Penal Code bars "clandestine printing" and provides for 3 to 6 months' imprisonment for failure to identify the author of a publication or the printing press used to produce the publication. Even the Catholic church-run publications, denied access to mass printing equipment, were subject to governmental pressure. Vitral magazine, a publication of the diocese of Pinar del Rio, continued to publish during the year, although officials publicly described it as "counterrevolutionary propaganda." In March, the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops indicated that the Church did not register its publications with the Ministry of Culture as required by law because registration would force it to concede control to the State.

Citizens did not have the right to receive publications from abroad, although news stands in hotels for foreigners and certain hard currency stores sold foreign newspapers and magazines. The Government continued to jam the transmission of Radio Marti and Television Marti. Radio Marti broadcasts at times overcame the jamming attempts on short-wave bands, but its medium-wave transmissions were blocked completely in Havana. Security agents subjected dissidents, foreign diplomats, and journalists to harassment and surveillance, including electronic surveillance.

All legal media must operate under party guidelines and reflect government views. The Government attempted to shape media coverage to such a degree that it not only exerted pressure on domestic journalists but also pressured groups normally outside the official realm of control, such as visiting and resident international correspondents. The Government barred some foreign journalists from entering the country.

The 1999 Law to Protect National Independence and the Economy (Law 88) outlaws a broad range of activities that undermine state security and toughens penalties for criminal activity. Under the law, anyone possessing or disseminating literature deemed subversive, or supplying information that could be used by U.S. authorities in the application of U.S. legislation, may be subject to fines and prison terms of 7 to 20 years for each charge. The authorities convicted more than 30 independent journalists and human rights activists under Law 88 during the year, sentencing them to prison terms of up 27 years. AI expressed "grave concern" regarding the application of Law 88, which it said appeared to place "unlawful restrictions on internationally-recognized rights."

The authorities arrested 28 independent journalists in March and subjected them to summary trials on charges of violating Law 88 or for alleged acts against the security of the State. All were convicted and sentenced to terms ranging from 14 to 27 years' imprisonment. On April 4, the IACHR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression expressed "grave concern" about the actions taken against independent journalists and urged the Government to respect freedom of expression and information. The international press freedom organizations Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also criticized the arrests and trials of the independent journalists. RSF launched a public campaign on behalf of the imprisoned journalists, identifying the country as the "Biggest Prison in the World for Journalists."

On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced Raul Rivero, director of the independent Cuba Press news agency, to 20 years' imprisonment for acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State. The sentencing document indicated Rivero was convicted for receiving payment for stories submitted to foreign news publications and for maintaining links with foreign diplomats and international NGOs, including RSF. The court alleged that Rivero filed false or misleading stories for personal gain, noting that he had used his income to purchase rugs, an air conditioner, and plastic chairs.

On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court convicted Ricardo Gonzalez Alonso of the Cuba Press news agency of acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the State and sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment. The sentencing document focused on Gonzalez' publication of the magazine De Cuba, which included articles by opposition political figures. The document also indicated Gonzalez maintained a library that included "counterrevolutionary" literature, had contacts with foreign diplomats, and received food, money, and medicine from exile organizations abroad.

On April 5, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced independent journalist Manuel Vazquez Portal to 18 years' imprisonment for violating Law 88. The court determined that Vazquez received small payments for news stories that were "seditious and aggressive towards the revolutionary process." In September, the CPJ selected Vazquez as one of four winners of the annual International Press Freedom Award.

On April 6, the Havana City Provincial Court sentenced independent journalist Oscar Espinosa Chepe to 20 years' imprisonment for violating Law 88 and for acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the State. The court convicted Chepe for filing "false or distorted" news stories to foreign news organizations for payments of $15 to $100. Chepe was 62 years old and in poor health (see Section 1.c.).

The Government continued to subject independent journalists to internal travel bans; arbitrary and periodic detentions (overnight or longer); harassment of family and friends; seizures of computers, office, and photographic equipment; and repeated threats of prolonged imprisonment (see Sections 1.d., 1.f., and 2.d.). Independent journalists in Havana reported that threatening phone calls and harassment of family members continued during the year. The authorities also placed journalists under house arrest to prevent them from reporting on conferences sponsored by human rights activists, human rights events, and court cases against activists. AI, HRW, the Inter-American Press Association, RSF, and the CPJ criticized the imprisonment of journalists and the Government's continued practice of detaining independent journalists and others simply for exercising their right to free speech. In addition, police increasingly tried to prevent independent journalists from covering so-called sensitive events (see Section 1.d.).

In April, the Government revealed that purported independent journalists Manuel David Orrio and Nestor Baguer were agents of the Ministry of the Interior assigned to infiltrate and report on independent journalists. Both Orrio and Baguer testified on behalf of the State against independent journalists during summary trials of 75 activists in April.

On February 13, the authorities expelled Argentine journalist Fernando Ruiz Parra from the country for meeting with dissidents.

During the year, at least four independent journalists were denied the right to emigrate, including Manuel Vazquez Portal, Jorge Olivera, Normando Hernandez, and Dorka Cespedes. Vazquez, Olivera, and Hernandez were among the 28 independent journalists subjected to summary trials and lengthy prison sentences in April.

The authorities often confiscated equipment when arresting journalists, particularly photographic and recording equipment. It was possible to buy a fax machine or computer, payable in dollars; however, even if a receipt could be produced, police often confiscated equipment and used it as evidence against the journalists. Photocopiers and printers either were impossible to find on the local market or were not sold to individuals, which made them a particularly valuable commodity for journalists.

Resident foreign correspondents reported that the very high level of government pressure experienced since 2000, including official and informal complaints about articles, continued throughout the year. The Government exercised its ability to control members of the resident foreign press by requiring them to obtain an exit permit each time they wished to leave the country. The Government also forced foreign correspondents to hire local staff from government agencies.

Distribution of information continued to be controlled tightly. Importation of foreign literature was controlled, and the public had no access to foreign magazines or newspapers. Leading members of the Government asserted that citizens did not read foreign newspapers and magazines to obtain news because they did not speak English and had access to the daily televised round tables on issues with which they needed to concern themselves. The Government sometimes barred independent libraries from receiving materials from abroad and seized materials donated by foreign diplomats.

In March, authorities arrested nine independent librarians and charged them with violating Law 88 or for acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the State. All nine, including Raul Rivero, Victor Rolando Arroyo, Ivan Hernandez Carrillo, Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, Ricardo Gonzalez, Roberto de Miranda, Blas Giraldo Reyes, Jose Miguel Martinez Hernandez, and Omar Pernet Hernandez, were subjected to summary trials and sentenced to 13 to 26 years' imprisonment.

In late September, police in Holguin Province confiscated 250 books and 2 typewriters from independent librarian Lorenzo Garcia Rodriguez. Garcia reported that police stationed an officer outside his home following a 3-hour search of his belongings and that he was under constant police surveillance, even when he attended Mass.

The Government controlled all access to the Internet, and all electronic mail messages were subject to government review and censorship. Access to computers and peripheral equipment was limited, and the Internet only could be accessed through government-approved institutions. Dial-up access to government-approved servers was prohibitively expensive for most citizens. E-mail use grew slowly as the Government allowed access to more users; however, the Government generally controlled its use, and only very few persons or groups had access. During the year, the Government blocked instant messaging programs and reportedly increased efforts to identify unauthorized Internet and e-mail users. In 2002, the Government opened a national Internet gateway to some journalists, artists, and municipal-level youth community centers, but the authorities continued to restrict the types and numbers of international sites that could be accessed. The Government did not permit Catholic Church representatives to have access to the Internet.

The Government officially prohibits all diplomatic missions in Havana from printing or distributing publications, particularly newspapers and newspaper clippings, unless these publications exclusively address conditions in a mission's home country and prior government approval is received. Many missions did not accept this requirement and distributed materials; however, the Government's threats to expel embassy officers who provided published materials had a chilling effect on some missions. On September 11, the Government shut down the Spanish Cultural Center for allegedly undertaking activities outside the scope of cultural exchange; the Government did not specify which activities constituted the alleged violation.

The Government restricted literary and academic freedoms and continued to emphasize the importance of reinforcing revolutionary ideology and discipline more than any freedom of expression. The educational system taught that the State's interests took precedence over all other commitments. Academics, government journalists, and other government officials were prohibited from meeting with some diplomats without prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Education required teachers to evaluate students' and their parents' ideological character and to place such evaluations in school records. These reports directly affected students' educational and career prospects. As a matter of policy, the Government demanded that teaching materials for courses such as mathematics or literature have an ideological content. Government efforts to undermine dissidents included denying them advanced education and professional opportunities. President Castro stated publicly that the universities were available only to those who shared his revolutionary beliefs.

Artistic expression was less restricted. The Government encouraged the cultural community to attain the highest international standards and to sell its work overseas for hard currency.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Although the Constitution grants limited rights of assembly and association, these rights are subject to the requirement that they may not be "exercised against the existence and objectives of the Socialist State." The law punishes any unauthorized assembly of more than three persons, including those for private religious services in private homes, by up to 3 months in prison and a fine. The authorities selectively enforced this prohibition and often used it as a legal pretext to harass and imprison human rights advocates.

The Government's policy of selectively authorizing the Catholic Church to hold outdoor processions at specific locations on important feast days continued during the year. On September 8, the Government permitted for the sixth consecutive year a procession in connection with Masses in celebration of the feast day of Our Lady of Charity in Havana. A number of activists participated in the procession. The authorities permitted a total of 50 processions nationwide to mark the feast day of Our Lady of Charity but denied 14 others. The Government also denied permits for separate processions in the towns of Managua and East Havana on political grounds (see Section 2.c.).

The authorities never have approved a public meeting by a human rights group and often detained activists to prevent them from attending meetings, demonstrations, or ceremonies (see Section 1.d.). There were unapproved meetings and demonstrations, which the Government frequently disrupted or attempted to prevent. The authorities sometimes used or incited violence against peaceful demonstrators.

In June and July, officials of the Ministry of the Interior threatened to arrest the 10 to 20 wives of political prisoners who staged silent marches after attending Mass together at Havana's Santa Rita Church. In several instances, the authorities also threatened to terminate family visits with the political prisoners or to otherwise retaliate against the prisoners for their spouses' displays of support. The spouses stopped walking together as a result of the threats, but continued to attend the same Mass.

The Government organized marches on May Day and held a rally, "Tribuna Abierta," every Saturday in a different municipality in the country. There was both radio and television coverage of the weekly rally. The Government employed CDRs and officials in the workplace to compel mass participation in these events.

The Government generally denied citizens the freedom of association. The Penal Code specifically outlaws illegal or unrecognized