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 The State Department had seen reports about the beating and
detention of political activist Antonio Rodiles in Cuba and that
U.S. interests there had confirmed the detentions of almost 100
other activists on Sunday, spokesman John Kirby said.
"Certainly it's concerning to us," Kirby said. "We're always going
to be very vocal and very candid about human rights concerns
wherever we see them."
Such short-term detentions occur regularly in Cuba, where officials
typically hold dissidents for a few hours or sometimes days.
The dissident group Ladies in White, which conducts a legally
permitted march in Havana each Sunday on behalf of political
prisoners, reported that police picked up 110 people before and
after last Sunday's event.
Among them was Rodiles, who said police broke his nose, requiring
surgery. Rodiles later posted pictures of his bandaged face and
blood-stained clothes on social media.
Last week, the United States and Cuba formally agreed to restore
diplomatic relations as of July 20, fulfilling a pledge made in
December when the longtime foes announced detente.
Kirby said the detentions would not change U.S. policy.
"In fact, it reinforces the need to move forward with
re-establishing diplomatic relations because opening that embassy,
we believe, will advance our human rights agenda by opening up
channels of official engagement," he said.
Cuba's leading dissident human rights commission reported 563
short-term detentions in June and said there have been an average of
470 short-term detentions each month this year.
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Beyond those cases, the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and
National Reconciliation estimates there are 60 political prisoners
in Cuba in addition to 11 former prisoners still on parole. The
commission’s list includes armed insurrectionists, hijackers and
spies as well as at least two dozen peaceful political activists.
Cuba's Communist government has said it has no political prisoners.
The commission’s estimate was down from 103 political prisoners a
year ago, a reduction due largely to Cuba’s release of 53 prisoners
as a result of the secret negotiations with the United States that
led to last December's historic announcement.
The Americans considered those 53 to be political prisoners and
their release was crucial to the deal to restore diplomatic
relations.
(Reporting by Bill Trott in Washington and Daniel Trotta in Havana;
Editing by Sandra Maler, Eric Beech and Bernard Orr)
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