Several non-governmental organizations on Dec. 3 demanded access to Cuban prisons, calling for international support following the death of a man imprisoned for participating in the July 2021 anti-government demonstrations on the island.

Several NGOs including Justicia 11J and the Centro de Documentación de Prisiones Cubanas (Cuban Prison Documentation Center), operated by Mexico-based non-profit organization Iniciativa para la Investigación y la Incidencia (Research & Advocacy Initiative), released statements denouncing the conduct of the Cuban authorities and demanding access to Cuban prisons to ensure an end to the systemic violation of prisoners' rights. Justicia 11J and the Center for a Free Cuba urged "governments, the United Nations, international human rights organizations and medical associations around the world" to "pressure the Cuban regime" and "provide the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to all Cuban prisons," and to provide care and treatment for sick or injured prisoners.

The government of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe extended a territory-wide curfew on Oct. 25, applying from 7 PM through 6 AM, after a strike by workers at the EDF-PEI power plant shut down the island's electricity supply. The power plant at Pointe Jarry, is run by the Insular Electricity Production unit of national utility Electricity of France. The order marked an extension of the curfew imposed the previous day "to prevent the risk of public order disturbance in the context of the general power outage."

The collapse of the electrical grid plunged the entire island of Cuba into darkness on Oct. 18—a situation compounded by Hurricane Oscar two days later. The national blackout, which caused many families to lose most of the little food they had, sparked rare protests amid a broader economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and widespread shortages of medicine, food, and water. Power has now been restored in the capital, Havana, but many rural areas remain in the dark, while schools and workplaces across the country remain closed due to ongoing energy-saving measures.

Amnesty International highlighted the failure of successive Iraqi governments to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the lethal crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen (October) protests, in a report published Sept. 30. Titled "We hold them responsible for the blood of our youth," the report reveals ongoing neglect and impunity five years after nationwide demonstrations that led to hundreds of deaths and disappearances, and thousands of injuries among the protesters.

The French government deployed the special anti-riot police, the Republican Security Companies (CRS), to Martinique on Sept. 22 in response to ongoing protests over the rising cost of living on the French-ruled Caribbean island. The deployment marks the first time CRS units have been sent to Martinique since they were banned from the territory in December 1959, following violent protests in departmental capital Fort-de-France that drew widespread criticism over heavy-handed police intervention. The CRS 8 unit, established in July 2021, is designed for "urban violence and high-intensity law enforcement operations," according to the French Ministry of the Interior.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement Sept. 6 condemning the treason charges leveled against protestors in Nigeria last month. A total of 124 people were arrested during the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria campaign in August, and 10 of those individuals have been charged with treason. The crime of treason can be punishable by death in the West African country.

In Episode 239 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg provides an overview of the protest waves and popular uprisings going on across the planet—in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, China, Serbia, Venezuela, and in Israel. This as worldwide protests in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza continue. Amid ongoing protests against Netanyahu in Israel, there have also been protests against Hamas in Gaza. Despite internal dangers and contradictions in all these upsurges, there is a sense that we could be approaching a revolutionary moment such as that seen in 2011—the year of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. And with the planet on an accelerating trajectory toward world war, the linking of these upsurges through conscious solidarity and the infusion of anti-war content to their demands is urgently mandated.

Amnesty International urged Malian authorities to immediately release dissident Youssouf Daba Diawara and 11 other arbitrarily detained opposition politicians in a July 19 statement. According to the statement, Mali's junta has been arbitrarily holding these political figures solely for exercising their civil rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Diawara was coordinator of the Association of Movements, Friends & Supporters of Imam Mahmud Dicko (CMAS) until it was dissolved by the authorities in March. On July 12, armed men forced him out of his car in Bamako and took him to the Gendarmerie's Criminal Investigations Brigade. He was charged with "opposition to legitimate authority" for participating in a protest against power cuts and inflation in June. His trial is scheduled for October.