Urgent Action Update: IMMINENT THREAT TO PEACEFUL PROTESTERS IN CUBA (Cuba: UA 88.21)

November 12, 2021

Civil society groups have called for peaceful protests across Cuba on November 15, 2021, to demand respect for human rights and the release of hundreds of people still imprisoned following the largest public protests seen in decades held this past July 11, 2021. Cuban authorities have historically criminalized dissent, making protesters at risk of arbitrary detention and other human rights violations.

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TAKE ACTION:

  1. Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on December 24, 2021.
  2. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  3. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 88.21. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Miguel Díaz Canel
President of the Republic of Cuba
Hidalgo, Esquina 6. Plaza de la Revolución
La Habana, CP 10400, Cuba
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @DiazCanelB
Facebook: @PresidenciadeCuba
Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera
Embassy of Cuba
2630 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
Phone: 202 797 8515
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @EmbaCubaUS @Lianystr
Facebook: @EmbaCubaUS
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear President Díaz-Canel,

I write to remind you that the international community, including independent human rights monitors, will be observing the peaceful protests convened on November 15, 2021, and urge you to ensure protesters are permitted to peacefully exercise their freedom of expression and assembly, as required under international human rights law and standards.

Hundreds of people remain detained for peacefully protesting in Cuba, including during the mass demonstrations on July 11, 2021. The cases of prisoners of conscience Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, José Daniel Ferrer García, Esteban Rodríguez, and Maykel Castillo Pérez represent only a tiny fraction of the total number of people who are detained solely because of their political, religious, or other beliefs without having used or advocated violence. I call on all to be immediately and unconditionally released.

Activists, independent journalists, and human rights defenders are also frequently subjected to physical surveillance and face arrest by police and state security officials if they leave their houses, which as Amnesty International has previously documented can amount to arbitrary detention. We urge you to allow all those who chose to protest on November 15, 2021, to do so, as well as to allow independent journalists and human rights defenders to carry out their work.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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