Cuba has intensified its control over freedom of expression and assembly, reaching levels unseen in decades. Five activists designated as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International remain incarcerated.
In a context of humanitarian crisis and increasing protest, Cuban authorities have continued to perfect a sophisticated machinery for repressing the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The new Penal Code, which came into effect in December 2022, vaguely and excessively regulates the crimes of contempt, public disorder, incitement to commit a crime, insult to national symbols, and foreign financing, facilitating the discretionary and abusive application of these criminal types against activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protesters for merely exercising their rights.
"Images of Rebellion" is more than just a book. It is a vibrant testimony to civic resistance in Cuba, featuring an emotive selection of over 21,000 letters and drawings of global support received by the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, as part of a campaign coordinated by Amnesty International for his release. Through its pages, the work displays the inspiring moments of mobilization from the end of 2020 to the protests of July 2021, as well as the severe governmental repression and the stories of five prisoners of conscience. This book is also a call to action, inviting readers to delve into the powerful stories behind each image and to join the demand for a #CubaSinRepresión.
This document has been prepared for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cuba in November 2023. In it, Amnesty International assesses the implementation of recommendations made to Cuba in the previous review, primarily concerning the right to freedom of expression and assembly.
It also evaluates the national human rights framework regarding Cuba's ongoing refusal to ratify fundamental international human rights instruments and its recently approved Penal Code.
