A/HRC/4/12 page 3 It is worth recalling the unprecedented wave of repression that was unleashed in March-April 2003 in Cuba, the pretext being the active role played by the United States Interests Section in Havana vis-à-vis the political opposition. Nearly 80 members of civil society were arrested. They were tried and sentenced to very long prison terms ranging from 6 to 28 years, either under article 91 of the Criminal Code, or on the basis of article 91 combined with the provisions of Act No. 88 on acts “contrary to the independence and integrity of the State”. The prosecution cited the publication of articles or interviews in the media, communication with international non-governmental organizations and exiles in the United States or in Europe, possession of audio or video cassettes originating from the United States Interests Section in Havana, and communication with groups which were not officially recognized - trade unions, professional associations and independent Cuban academic groups. Those arrested were tried in very short order: a few weeks, or even a few days, in trials not open to the public. The accused were assisted by counsel who did not belong to an independent bar association. They are currently being held in conditions affecting their physical and mental health which are all the more worrying as the Cuban authorities have provided the High Commissioner and the special rapporteurs who signed the urgent appeals with very brief information about them, or none. In 2005 and 2006, more people were arrested and given disproportionate sentences for expressing dissident political opinions. The appeal to the Cuban authorities made by the Personal Representative of the High Commissioner on 28 July 2005 has gone unanswered. Nine urgent appeals were made in 2006, either separately or jointly, by special procedures (Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health). The Personal Representative of the High Commissioner has drawn up 10 recommendations intended to put an end to the current situation through restoration of the guaranteed fundamental rights of citizens in the country and international protection of those rights through Cuba’s accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as its two optional protocols and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.