Cuban dissident Yoani Sanchez has lamented the increased repression of the opposition in the island nation. Since the mass protests last year, the government has been taking “repressive anger” against those who think differently, the journalist said yesterday at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. There are more than a thousand political prisoners in Cuba.
The founder of the website 14ymedio warned of the consequences of the criminal law reform, which came into force on Thursday. “Main victims” of the tightening of the law are independent journalism and “the free flow of news,” said Sanchez.
protest “criminalized”
The new penal code classifies as crimes a range of activities that the state considers subversive and harmful to society. According to human rights organizations, this is intended to suppress dissenting opinions. Protesting against the government should be “criminalized” under offenses such as indecency, Sanchez said.
In July 2021, thousands of people protested in dozens of Cuban cities. They were reacting to Cuba’s worst economic crisis in almost 30 years. The protests were violently suppressed at the time.