Venezuela closes Norway embassy, Cuba persecution of dissidents, Navalny lawyers trial.

1/ HRF condemns the Cuban regime’s systematic human rights violations and persecution of dissidents. Protecting political prisoners is essential, but exile must never be normalized as a solution to dictatorship. Democracies must unite to demand that Cuba end its crimes against its people.

2/ This week, leading Cuban opposition leader and pro-democracy activist @jdanielferrer entered a United States-negotiated exile after years of suffering extensive physical and psychological torture while imprisoned under politically motivated charges.  https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/13/politics/cuban-dissident-jose-daniel-ferrer-arrives-us

3/ Ferrer was among those who still dared to challenge the Cuban dictatorship. The regime has ramped up its efforts to silence all forms of discontent, targeting protesters who take to the streets to denounce the regime-made humanitarian crisis, marked by power outages and shortages of food and medicine.  https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2025/09/20/la-dictadura-cubana-condeno-a-15-manifestantes-a-penas-de-hasta-nueve-anos-de-prision-por-protestar-contra-los-apagones

4/ Ferrer was among the more than 2,000 people detained for participating in the July 11, 2021 (11J) protests demanding democracy and freedom in one of the world’s most repressive regimes. Hundreds remain arbitrarily imprisoned over four years later, enduring inhumane conditions and torture.  https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-11/the-punishment-for-protesting-in-cuba-beatings-solitary-confinement-and-sleep-deprivation.html