Mimi Whitefield, The Miami Herald

Amnesty International said Thursday that Cuba has kept up a “permanent campaign of harassment” against those who demand respect for civil and political rights.

But its tactics have changed from long-term detentions to a churning of dissidents, human rights activists and independent journalists who are picked up frequently, held for short periods and released, the international human rights organization said in a new report.

Amnesty pointed out, for example, that Caridad Caballero Batista, an independent journalist from Holguin and a member of the Ladies in White, had been detained more than 17 times since July 2011 for reporting on demonstrations and human rights abuses. She often was released after a few hours....