{"id":7759,"date":"2022-05-16T09:39:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T13:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=7759"},"modified":"2022-05-19T09:40:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T13:40:47","slug":"rights-groups-say-new-cuba-penal-code-tougher-on-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=7759","title":{"rendered":"Rights Groups Say New Cuba Penal Code Tougher on Dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"
In this July 11, 2021 file photo, plainclothes police detain an anti-government protester during a demonstration over high prices, food shortages and power outages, while some also called for a change in the government, in Havana, Cuba. The Cuban parliament has approved on Monday, May 16, 2022, a new penal code that raises the punishment for certain crimes, but according to activists and analysts, it\u00b4s designed to further curtail freedom of expression and silence any future protests. (AP Photo\/Ramon Espinosa, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cuba\u2019s parliament has approved a new penal code that officials say modernizes the country\u2019s laws but that human rights groups warn tightens already strict limits on dissent.<\/p>\n

The law approved Sunday tightly controls unauthorized contacts with foreign organizations and individuals and explicitly bans foreign financing.<\/p>\n

Supreme Court President Rub\u00e9n Remigio Ferro called it \u201ca modern, very inclusive code,\u201d telling state television that it favors \u201cprevention and education before repression\u201d while imposing \u201csanctions with sufficient rigor\u201d against crimes that affect \u201csocial peace and the stability of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

It will take effect after going to a drafting commission and then being published in the official gazette.<\/p>\n

Cuban authorities have never had trouble punishing dissent they see as dangerous. Hundreds of people were arrested for taking past in July 2021 protests across the island and some were sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges such as sedition: Independent journalists have sometimes been jailed on various charges, often choosing eventually to leave the island.<\/p>\n

Under the new law, penalties of 10 to 30 years \u2014 in extreme cases even death \u2014 can be imposed on those who give information to international organizations, associations or even people who have not been authorized by the government.<\/p>\n

It eliminates the vague, widely offense of \u201cprecriminal dangerousness\u201d that was sometimes used against dissidents, but creates new categories of crimes.<\/p>\n

Those who insult or attack officials or civilians who are doing their \u201ccitizens\u2019 duty\u201d can be imprisoned for up to five years. A similar punishment can be imposed on those who \u201cincite\u201d against socialist order \u2014 and 10 years for those who use communications media to do so.<\/p>\n

Among the most questioned clauses is the ban on any unauthorized financing from international or domestic sources that contributes to the commission of a crime. That section does not affect remittances from Cubans living abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new penal code, Cuban authorities continue to build an intricate and perverse legal regime of censorship and deal a devastating blow to independent journalists and outlets,\u201d said Ana Cristina N\u00fa\u00f1ez, the senior researcher for Latin American and the Caribbean for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.<\/p>\n

The new code reinforces penalties for corruption, speculation and hoarding.<\/p>\n

Despite some complaints, it maintains a potential death penalty for 23 crimes \u2014 though that has not been applied since 2003 \u2014 and adds to sentences when crimes involve gender violence or crimes against minors and disabled people.<\/p>\n

The age of criminal responsibility remains at 16.<\/p>\n

This law \u201cis a more direct way for the government to armor itself against civil society, against political dissidence,\u201d said Saily Gonz\u00e1lez, an activist prominent in monitoring response to the 2021 protests.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers declined to include a measure backed by Mariela Castro, daughter of former President Ra\u00fal Castro, to make femicide and explicit crime. Another deputy, Teresa Amarelle, leader of the Federation of Cuban Woman said that wasn\u2019t needed because of newly toughened punishment against gender violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuba\u2019s parliament has approved a new penal code that officials say modernizes the country\u2019s laws but that human rights groups warn tightens already strict limits on dissent. The law approved Sunday tightly controls unauthorized contacts with foreign organizations and individuals and explicitly bans foreign financing. Supreme Court President Rub\u00e9n Remigio Ferro called it \u201ca modern,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/afs-prod\/media\/be6cbd32be204bd3984fe36299193e4e\/800.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"Rights Groups Say New Cuba Penal Code Tougher on Dissent","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-public-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7761,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7759\/revisions\/7761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}