LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Amnesty International said Saturday that Fidel Castro, who was praised by world leaders after his death at age 90, engaged in a “systemic repression of basic freedoms” during his decades in power.

The London-based human rights organisation said the state of free expression in Cuba was Castro’s “darkest legacy”.

“Castro’s achievements in improving access to public services for millions of Cubans were tempered by a systemic repression of basic freedoms,” Amnesty said.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s Americas director, said he was a “progressive but deeply flawed leader”.

Despite improving education, healthcare and housing provision, his rule from 1959 to 2006 was characterised by the “ruthless suppression of freedom of expression”, she said.

“The state of freedom of expression in Cuba, where activists continue to face arrest and harassment for speaking out against the government, is Fidel Castro’s darkest legacy.”

Amnesty said it had documented hundreds of cases of prisoners of conscience detained for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of speech, association and assembly.

Though such tactics have changed in recent years, “the control of the state over all the aspects of Cuban life remains a reality”.

Castro had hundreds of people linked to the previous government executed, Amnesty said.

“Castro’s legacy is a tale of two worlds. The question now is what human rights will look like in a future Cuba. The lives of many depend on it,” Guevara-Rosas said.