Thank you, honourable members.
World Prison Brief reports 90,000 prisoners, 1% of Cuba's population.... Prisoners Defenders verifies 1,281 political prisoners, including 34 condemned minors, even two in maximum security prisons among adult criminals, and [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Many are mothers forcibly deprived of their children.
[Technical difficulty—Editor] in UN arbitrary detention victims, over twice those in Venezuela and three times those in Nicaragua or Mexico, and fourth in enforced disappearance UN urgent actions.
The United Nations has repeatedly condemned Cuba's structural due process violations. Prosecutors imprison without oversight; defence lawyers depend on the Minister of Justice; courts, prosecutors and lawyers are politically controlled; defence expert evidence is barred; fundamental rights are criminalized; all penal theories are badly defined; and civilians face summary military courts. All of this was confirmed by six special rapporteurs and other UN bodies.
Some 11,000 people, not counted as political prisoners, are in prison without a crime for a pre-crime, as they're “prone” to destabilizing social order. Among political prisoners, 449 suffer serious medical conditions from hunger, ill treatment, repression and denial of care. There are 52 others who have severe pre-existing mental disorders, all untreated.
Average daily prison rations are under 300 kilocalories, less than 15% of survival needs. Families bring food and guards steal it. [Technical difficulty—Editor] left with custody-developed cancer, hepatitis and Auschwitz-like malnutrition. Political prisoners are being [Technical difficulty—Editor]. The committee against torture adopted findings from almost 200 random political prisoner cases we documented. All were tortured. [Technical difficulty—Editor], and Jonathan Torres Farrat, 17 years old, suffered 15 patterns.
Some 60,000 inmates produce charcoal sold in Canada and Europe as eco-friendly, and Habano cigars. They work 14 hours a day, weekends included, under 75-cigar quotas and no real wage. [Technical difficulty—Editor] had to acknowledge it.
In 1959, many believed Cuba chose democracy. Fraud led to a Communist, Stalinist and Soviet system. [Technical difficulty—Editor] faced eight years in prison for quitting, as confirmed and condemned by the UN and the IACHR.
For 67 years, Cuba has been in hell, not paradise. Sanctions do not justify regime crimes against humanity, as they are set to punish the crimes. In 2021, Cubans peacefully took to the streets, shouting, “Patria y Vida” and “Freedom”. [Technical difficulty—Editor] and over 2,500 prosecutions.
Do Cubans have a real chance against this tyranny? None. That is [Technical difficulty—Editor] anymore. The universal declaration's supreme right to rebel against tyranny is impossible for Cubans, but Canada can exercise a responsibility [Technical difficulty—Editor] with every possible force, in coordination with the United States, to secure the best and fastest change in Cuba.
Thank you very much, members.