Cuba: Violent acts against non-violent activists doubled in July along with an increase in arbitrary arrests

 Repression reaches record levels in Cuba

Sixty five consecutive Sundays with peaceful demonstrations broken up

The Castro dictatorship has reached a new record in arbitrary detentions during the first six months of 2016.  The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation documented 845 arbitrary detentions in July which when added to the previous five months totals 7,418 politically motivated arrests during the first six months of 2016 in Cuba.

Reinforcements arrive for operation against Ladies in White headquarters in Havana

 The number of cases of political violence documented doubled from 23 in June to 46 in July.  The past weekends attack on the Ladies in White offers a snapshot of what is taking place. On Saturday, August Lady in White Gisela Sanchez died in Havana at age 65 and friends and family gathered to pay their respects. Unfortunately, Cuban state security interrupted this solemn occasion to beat up and arrest 10 Cuban women and Gisela Sanchez's son, Reinol Vicente Sánchez, while they were all present at the wake. The beating was apparently because State Security did not want them to put the Cuban flag on Sanchez's coffin. Reinol Vicente was released in time to attend his mother's funeral reported Berta Soler over twitter.

State Security vehicles used to haul away peaceful demonstrators

On August 7, 2016 for the sixty fifth consecutive Sunday members of the Ladies in White in Havana,  Matanzas, and Guantanamo were arbitrarily and violently arrested in a operation conducted by State Security.

Photographic evidence of the violence visited upon the Ladies in White was uploaded to social media on twitter this past Sunday by Angel Moya showing bruising on a black woman's jaw identified as R. Sotolongo.

R. Sotolongo beaten up this past Saturday (photo by Angel Moya)