New Castro, same Cuba

A Human Rights Watch report—“New Castro, Same Cuba”—published today claims Cuban president Raúl Castro has crushed dissent and tightened repression in the country since taking over from his brother Fidel in July 2006. The study, based on a clandestine fact-finding mission this year, “paints a near-dystopian image of an island where those who step out of line risk being beaten and jailed in horrific conditions which verge on torture,” The Guardian reports. The report also alleges the Cuban government has extended use of an "Orwellian" law that allows the state to punish people before they commit a crime on suspicion they may do so, a tactic designed to cow actual and potential opponents. And it takes to task the EU and Canada for preaching the importance of human rights in Cuba then failing to pressure Havana for compliance, adding: "Worse still, Latin American governments across the political spectrum have been reluctant to criticize Cuba, and in some cases have openly embraced the Castro government. [This] silence … perpetuates a climate of impunity that allows repression to continue."

The GuardianHuman Rights Watch