The human rights arm of the Organization of American States plans to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Cuba. Cuba has never cooperated with the body.

BY PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Friday it will open an investigation on Cuba for arresting and jailing dissidents and executing hijackers, the first such move in five years.

The IACHR, part of the Organization of American States, announced the decision after its regular three-week period of sessions, when judges examine human rights abuses in the Americas.

The IACHR also announced that it will send a mission to Venezuela soon and condemned a draft media law in Venezuela for stifling free speech. It described as ''worrying'' reports that some pro-democracy groups in Venezuela were under investigation for receiving foreign funds.

The IACHR investigation of Cuba is likely to have little practical effect for more than 70 dissidents in jail since March and April of last year, following a crackdown on the opposition. Cuba does not recognize the authority of the IACHR.

NOMINAL MEMBERS

The government of Cuba was ejected from the OAS in 1962 but the country still nominally belongs to the 34-member institution, although it is not represented in the Permanent Council, its top day-to-day decision-making body.

The Cuban government has declined to send attorneys to its sessions. It refuses to allow its missions to visit the island and IACHR written requests for information are returned unanswered.

The IACHR investigation, the first since 1999, could lead to a negative report for Cuba that would provide ammunition for human rights groups and countries to condemn Cuban leader Fidel Castro. It would also be a symbolic victory for the dissident movement on the Caribbean island.

''Large-scale violations of public freedom continue in Cuba, particularly for the right to political participation and of free expression, and the systematic repression against dissidents, human rights activists and independent journalists,'' said José Zalaquett, the IACHR's president.

SPEEDY EXECUTIONS

During the crackdown last year, three ferry hijackers were quickly tried and executed in a process Zalaquett described as a ``masquerade of justice.''

The IACHR agrees to investigate an alleged abuse when domestic appeals have been exhausted, or when there are few guarantees that defendants will have access to a fair and speedy trial.

The IACHR criticized the media bill in Venezuela for requiring the press to report information ''truthfully,'' a demand that is difficult to comply with in practical terms. The bill is also ''plagued with fines and requirements'' that would curtail free speech, Zalaquett said.

President Hugo Chávez has also called nongovernmental organizations like Súmate, a group that promoted the realization of a recall referendum against him, traitors for receiving donations from the National Endowment for Democracy, a private group that is funded by the U.S. Congress.

Súmate's leaders face long jail terms if judges uphold a prosecution demand that they be tried for ``conspiracy to destroy the republican form of government.''