This document updates information contained in the report “Cuba: Government crackdown on dissent” (AMR 25/14/96), issued in April 1996. It details recent actions taken against members of Concilio Cubano, Cuban Concilium or Council, a forum of some 140 unofficial groups. Action against them intensified prior to 24 February 1996 when they planned to hold a national meeting, and short-term detentions, harassment and intimidation have continued since then. At least four members remain imprisoned and are prisoners of conscience, Dr Leonel Morejon Almagro, Lazaro Gonzalez Valdes, Juan Francisco Monzon Oviedo and Roberto Lopez Montanez. Other concerns include the policy of the authorities to force dissidents into exile abroad and to prevent the return of others who left the country legally, like Yndamiro Restano Diaz. This document gives details of dissidents and journalists subjected to persistent harassment, and calls on the government to ensure the right to freedom of assembly and expression.
