HAVANA, Cuba – Supporters of Cuba’s Ladies in White group say Cuba government supporters have attacked more than 40 members in what they described as the worst violence against the Havana group since the Catholic Church interceded on their behalf last spring.
Spokeswoman Berta Soler said today that the mob punched, slapped and kicked the women, spit on them, pulled their hair and ripped some of their clothes to break up the women’s attempt to stage a street protest on Thursday.
She told reporters here that several of the 42 women who were attacked reported bruises on their arms and legs, but none required medical treatment.
Ladies in White leader Laura Pollán said the women left her home after their monthly gathering for a “literary tea” for a march to protest violent attacks on the Ladies in White branch in the eastern city of Santiago over the past four weeks.
She said 47 women had gathered at the house, but five did not go out because of age and health issues.
Pollán said another eight women were detained and taken away by police near her house on Thursday morning to keep them from joining the gathering. They were freed later.
Soler said Thursday’s attack was the harshest in Havana since March of last year, when the Catholic Church urged the government to halt an increasingly violent string of aggressions against the women during their regular Sunday protests. (CMC)
