Hector Palacios Still Needs Your Help: Imprisoned Cuban Rights Defender Dangerously Ill

Alert Issued: March 23, 2005

Hector Palacios, the subject of past Defender Alerts, needs your help now more than ever. For over a month, Hector Palacios, age 62, has suffered from serious heart problems and is not responding to medical treatment. His health problems have only been aggravated by harsh prison conditions.

Two years ago this week, Hector Palacios became one of 75 human rights advocates, independent journalists and librarians who were arrested, tried, and sentenced to up to 28 years in prison. Human Rights First believes that these people have been wrongfully imprisoned solely for openly exercising basic rights guaranteed to them in both international and Cuban law.

Currently serving a 25 year sentence, Hector Palacios has advocated for human rights reforms in Cuba since 1980, and is an independent librarian. Independent librarians in Cuba provide access to books that are banned by the authorities. These include literature written by authors such as George Orwell, Václav Havel, and Dr. Martin Luther King, who have penned many books considered to be among the classics of anti-totalitarian literature.

Join us today in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Hector Palacios and all others who have been imprisoned solely for exercising basic human rights in Cuba. To date, fourteen of the original 75 dissidents have been released following international pressure. Your letters could mean the difference between life and death for Mr. Palacios.

Background:

In March 2003, 75 human rights advocates, independent journalists and librarians were arrested, tried, and sentenced to up to 28 years in prison in the most severe crackdown the island has seen in recent history. Many of the imprisoned dissidents were organizers of the Varela Project, a constitutionally-based civic initiative that collected signatures on a petition calling for a referendum on democratic reforms and respect for basic freedoms.

Human Rights First believes that these people have been wrongfully imprisoned solely for openly exercising basic rights guaranteed to them in both international and Cuban law and has urged the Cuban Authorities to order their immediate release. To date, fourteen of the dissidents have been released following international pressure.

Several human rights defenders and other dissidents are suffering from serious illnesses that are exacerbated by the harsh conditions under which they are being held. Some of the most seriously ill human rights defenders include Hector Palacios, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Omar Pernet Hernandez, Nelson Aguiar Ramirez, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, José Luis García Paneque and Normando Hernandez Gonzalez. Human Rights First reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of these critically ill human rights defenders.

Héctor Palacios, currently serving a 25 year sentence, was formerly an official in the Cuban Communist Party. He left the party in 1980 as a response to what he perceived to be the Cuban government’s harsh repression of Cubans wanting to emigrate from the island. Since 1980, Mr. Palacios has advocated for reform in Cuban government and has been active in opposition politics.

Mr. Palacios has also been an active organizer for the Varela Project and is an independent librarian. Independent librarians in Cuba provide access to books that are banned by the authorities. These include literature written by authors such as George Orwell, Václav Havel, and Dr. Martin Luther King, who have penned many books considered to be among the classics of anti-totalitarian literature.

Mr. Palacios’ recent imprisonment is not his first confrontation with the Cuban government. He was arrested in 1994 during a protest following the attempted hijacking of ferries by people looking for a way to emigrate from the island. Mr. Palacios was subsequently jailed in 1997 for “disrespecting” the Cuban government during an interview with a German television station. In 2000, Mr. Palacios and Mr. Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas were detained for drawing international attention to the human rights situation in Cuba by meeting with heads of states during the Ibero-American Summit in Havana.

In a press conference given by Felipe Pérez Roque, Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations, on the trials and convictions of 75 Cuban dissidents, Mr. Palacios was condemned for allegedly having “official status” at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. He has received a 25 year sentence based on these charges as well housing an independent library whose collection is said to be “subversive” and “counterrevolutionary.”

In a letter to his wife, Gisela Delgado Sablón, in May 2003, Mr. Palacios wrote, “… fighting for what is just is the only way to experience happiness.”

Please join Human Rights First in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Hector Palacios and all others imprisoned solely for the nonviolent exercise of basic human rights.

Letter:

Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz
Presidente de los Consejos de Estados y de Ministros
La Habana, CUBA
Fax: 011-53-7-333-085

Dear Sirs:

As you are aware, in early 2003, some 75 Cuban dissidents were arrested, tried and sentenced to up to 28 years in prison for charges including “disrespect” of the Revolution, committing treason, or giving information to the enemy. The activities that appear to have led to their imprisonment were their nonviolent activism for human rights and democracy. This crackdown on human rights defenders and independent journalists in Cuba is the most severe in recent years and has been condemned widely by human rights organizations, foreign governments, and the United Nations. I would like to strongly urge you to order the unconditional release of all individuals who were arrested and convicted on the basis of their peaceful expression of their opinions and their efforts to promote and protect basic human rights in Cuba.

Furthermore, several human rights defenders and other dissidents are suffering from serious illnesses that are exacerbated by the harsh conditions under which they are being held. Some of the most seriously ill human rights defenders include Hector Palacios, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Omar Pernet Hernandez, José Luis García Paneque, Victor Rolando Arroyo, Nelson Aguiar Ramirez, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, and Normando Hernandez Gonzalez. I urge you to order the immediate and unconditional release of these critically ill human rights defenders.

According to the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which Cuba actively participated in drafting and passing, all persons have the right “freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The important work of Cuban human rights defenders should be recognized by the government and they should be supported rather than persecuted for their activities.

While the dissidents remain in detention, I strongly urge you to ensure that they are provided with appropriate and timely medical treatment and that their conditions of detention meet basic international standards. International human rights law requires that all persons held in detention are treated with humanity and dignity and that they are not subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Cuban government should ensure the application of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of all Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, which further elaborate the basic standards to be achieved in ensuring respect for the rights of detainees.

We will continue to monitor these cases closely. Thank you for your attention to these most serious matters.

Sincerely,

CC:

Dr. Juan Escalona Reguera
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
San Rafael 3
La Habana, CUBA
Fax: 011 53 7 669 485/333 164

Sr. Felipe Pérez Roque
Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
Calzada No. 360
Vedado, La Habana, CUBA
Fax: 011 53 7 333 085

Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Plaza de la Provincia, 1
Madrid 28012
Spain