January 10 , 2001

BBC News Online. Tuesday, 9 January, 2001, 18:09 GMT

A dissident human rights group in Cuba has predicted what it described as increased political intolerance and repression from President Fidel Castro's government in 2001.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation said the situation had deteriorated over the past twelve months regarding people's civil and political rights, and it expected the situation to continue to worsen.

The head of the commission, Elizardo Sanchez, said the number of prisoners held for political offences remained at about three-hundred over the past year, but he said the authorities were increasingly resorting to repeated and brief periods of detention to deter their opponents.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

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