Cuban human rights abuses on rise

The imprisonment of political dissidents in Cuba has increased substantially during the past 24 months, an Amnesty International report said Thursday. The report, "Routine repression: Political short-term detentions and harassment in Cuba," said Cuban authorities are using new tactics to punish those in opposition to the regime. The regime targets dissidents, human rights activists, journalists and bloggers who criticize state policies, Amnesty International said. "Tactics have changed, but the repression in Cuba is as strong as ever," said Gerardo Ducos, Cuba researcher at Amnesty International. "After the mass release of prisoners of conscience in 2011, we have seen authorities sharpening their strategy to silence dissent by harassing activists and journalists with short-term detentions and public acts of repudiation." The Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation said there were 2,784 instances of human rights abuses from January 2011 to September 2011 -- 710 instances more than all of 2010. "Cuba has seen worsening repression when it comes to human rights. What we want to see happening is for activists to be able to carry out their legitimate work without the fear of reprisals," Ducos said.