The human rights branch of the Organization of American States condemned Cuba for the arrest of 75 dissidents and for three killings, the first specific condemnation in seven years.

BY PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON - The human rights branch of the Organization of American States Wednesday condemned Cuba for jailing 75 dissidents and swiftly trying and executing three hijackers during a 2003 crackdown on dissent.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) recommended Cuba free the prisoners, compensate the victims and modify its laws to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the rights of its citizens.

The IACHR's opinion, issued in two separate reports, will likely have little immediate impact because Cuba has long refused to recognize IACHR decisions. But human rights lawyers say it might lay the ground for future legal actions, including suits for reparations, if there is a change of government.

TELLING THEIR STORIES

''As a result of this case, these three deaths . . . are not anonymous deaths anymore,'' said Claudio Grossman, a law professor at American University who led a legal team that argued the hijackers' case. ``Their story should be told by a legitimate organ with authority.''

The IACHR, widely respected by nongovernment human rights groups, has been credited with helping thousands of victims of violations in the hemisphere obtain redress and prod OAS member states to improve their human rights protections.

Cuba argues the commission has no jurisdiction over Havana because the country was suspended from the OAS in 1962. It routinely returns IACHR communications unopened.

The 75 dissidents were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison after brief trials on charges generally alleging they were acting as U.S. agents. The IACHR report mentions another four dissidents jailed around the same time. Fifteen were released later on health grounds.

HIJACKERS KILLED

The three men were executed by firing squads just nine days after their arrest following a foiled attempt to hijack a passenger ferry to Florida. Their swift trial and executions infuriated international human rights organizations, many Cuban Americans in Miami and the U.S. government.

The IACHR regularly condemns Cuba for the lack of liberties there, and also urges the United States to end the embargo against the island. But the panel rarely tackles specific cases.

In 1996, it condemned Cuba for the 37 deaths during the 1994 sinking of a Florida-bound tugboat after it was rammed and sunk by government vessels. And in 1999 it blamed Cuba for the 1996 shoot-downs of the two Brothers to the Rescue planes in which four people were killed.

The commission argues that Cuba is still subject to its jurisdiction because it continues to be part of the 1948 Charter of the OAS and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man of the same year -- the documents that gave rise to the IACHR in 1959.

However, Cuba is not part of another agreement in 1969 that created the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights, meaning that neither side can take the IACHR report to that tribunal for a more binding decision.

The Cuban American Bar Association and the rights group Cuban Democratic Directory acted as plaintiffs for the jailed dissidents, filing their complaint shortly after the 2003 crackdown. They argued the defendants were forced to use court-appointed lawyers and were allowed just hours to prepare their defenses. They were subject to solitary confinement, beatings and other abuses, according to the 78-page report.

The IACHR says Cuba also denied the defendants their right to a fair and public trial and humane treatment in jail, among other violations. It also condemned Cuba for laws that limit the rights of freedom of expression and opinion.

The commission berated Cuba for not using ''a judicial approach'' to prove the charges against the dissidents. It cites one case where a flier listing generally recognized human and civil rights was used as proof to show the defendant was seeking to destabilize the country.

VENEZUELA DEFENDS

The Venezuelan representative on the IACHR, Freddy Gutiérrez, wrote the sole dissenting opinion, saying the legal arguments were ''weak and inconsistent'' and that Cuba's 1962 suspension meant the country had no representation in the OAS.

Lorenzo Copello, Bárbaro Sevilla and Jorge Martínez were executed by firing squad on April 11. The family members were never informed of the trial and were not allowed to see the bodies afterwards.