Organizations demand that the Federation of Cuban Women condemn reprisals against relatives of political prisoners

Organizations and activists demanded that the Federation of Cuban Women issue a statement regarding the reprisals against relatives of political prisoners. (Illustrative image Infobae)A group of Cuban organizations and activists published a letter on November 12 addressed to the secretary general of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boué, demanding a statement against the reprisals faced by female relatives of people imprisoned for political reasons on the island. The letter was promoted by Justicia 11J, together with Casa Palanca, Alas Tensas, the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT), the Political Prisoners of Cuba Project, Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba, the Cuban Women's Network, and the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights. The text also has the support of mothers, wives, and activists linked to persons deprived of liberty. According to the statement, the women who accompany imprisoned relatives make visits to prisons, bring food and medicine, complete paperwork, and denounce detention conditions. The signing organizations maintain that, because of these activities, some have been summoned for interrogations, surveilled, detained near penitentiary centers, or threatened by state agents."Political repression does not end with the imprisoned persons," the organizations stated in the document. The letter includes a request that "the reprisals against the women who demand justice" cease. The organizations demanded that Teresa Amarelle Boué recognize acts of sexual coercion and harassment as gender-based violence. (Illustrative image Infobae)The text attributes to Justicia 11J the documentation of cases in which relatives of political prisoners would have suffered forms of violence because of their condition as women and mothers. Among the situations mentioned are forced nudity during interrogations, searches, and prison visits. The organizations indicated that one of these episodes would have occurred in the presence of a minor daughter. They also mentioned the case of a prisoner's wife to whom an officer would have proposed leaving her husband to start a relationship with him. The letter adds complaints about a woman who, according to the signatories, was assaulted during pregnancy and again four days after giving birth. It also refers to threats of losing custody of children against other women linked to dissidents or detained after the protests of July 11, 2021. For the organizations, these events must be considered gender-based violence, given that the threats and pressures would be directed against motherhood, family ties, and the sexual integrity of those affected. "That mandate admits no exceptions for political reasons," they stated. In turn, the letter questions the FMC's lack of public statements about the situation of relatives of persons imprisoned for political reasons. The officialist organization presents itself as a representative of Cuban women and functions as the national mechanism for the advancement of women before international bodies. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women warned about the criminalization and arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders in Cuba. (Illustrative image Infobae)The signatories requested that the Federation publicly condemn the reported reprisals, recognize forced nudity, sexual coercion, and threats related to motherhood as gender-based violence, and demand investigations by the competent authorities. They also demanded that the Women and Family Orientation Centers serve these women without discrimination based on their political views or those of their relatives. Another of the requests is that the FMC distance itself from the so-called acts of repudiation and stigmatization campaigns against activists. The letter recalls that, in October 2024, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern over reports of criminalization, harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders in Cuba. According to the signing organizations, the Committee recommended that the Cuban regime refrain from taking reprisals against those women. The text also notes that the body expressed concern about restrictions on family visits affecting female political prisoners and about the lack of independent women's associations on the island.