Cuba: "˜Ladies in White" arrested again

Diario de Cuba reported on 20 February 2017 that police detained more than 50 "Ladies in White" as they were on their way to attend a church service. "Ladies in White" are an opposition movement in Cuba founded in 2003 by female relatives of 75 jailed dissidents. The women protest against the imprisonments by attending Catholic Mass each Sunday wearing white clothes (the color symbolizing peace) and by silently marching through the streets in a group afterwards. Rossana Ramirez, working for World Watch Research explains: "Women belonging to the "˜Ladies in White" have been arrested on a regular basis and make up a significant part of the 9,940 arbitrary arrests carried out by the Cuban security forces in 2016, as recorded by the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) and published in January 2017. To hinder a person from attending Christian worship is a serious violation of the right to religious freedom and worship, not to mention the right to freedom of speech and free association."