Cuban prisoners forced to work making cigars and charcoal for export to Europe, report claims

Cigar production was confirmed in at least seven Cuban prisons, the report says, involving the alleged forced labour of over 500 inmates. Photograph: Ramón Espinosa/AP

Prisoners in Cuba are forced to work producing the country’s world-famous cigars and marabu charcoal sold to European consumers, according to a new report.

The Madrid-based NGO Prisoners Defenders estimates that at least 60,000 people are being forced to work with little or no pay, under threats, in exhausting conditions and without adequate equipment, with reports of violence including the sexual abuse of female detainees.