Rights group - Cuba arrested 674 dissidents in July

Rights group: Cuba arrested 674 dissidents in July
Cuba locked up nearly 700 dissidents in July, an opposition group has
reported. According to the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National
Reconciliation, that's the highest total since June 2014.

In its latest monthly study, the opposition Cuban Commission of Human
Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported that the government
arrested 674 people on "political motives" in July. According to the
group, at least 21 of those arrested were treated violently while in
custody.
The majority of the detentions were brief, according to the CCHDRN, "in
a persistent context of the violation of all civil and political rights
and other fundamental rights."
Most involved Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), who hold regular
marches in Havana following Sunday Mass.
Called "counterrevolutionary" and "US mercenaries" by the government,
the CCHDRN also reported an incident in which Cuban authorities tried to
have dissidents expelled from a democracy conference in El Salvador but
failed.
Elizardo Sanchez, the author of the CCHDRN study, said at least 71 of
the dissidents arrested in July were victims of "acts of repudiation"
carried out by "secret police and parapolice elements."
The report comes as international attention is focused on Cuba, with the
country working to restore diplomatic relations with the US after the
reopening of their respective embassies after five decades and the
possible easing of a travel ban imposed by the United States.
Cuba recently received several high-level foreign visitors, including
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Source: Rights group: Cuba arrested 674 dissidents in July | News |
DW.COM | 05.08.2015 -
http://www.dw.com/en/rights-group-cuba-arrested-674-dissidents-in-july/a-18628220