Their crime? Promoting basic human rights like freedom of opinion and expression and daring to expose their fellow citizens to ideas and literature banned by the state.

Since the March 2003 crackdown, participants in Human Rights First’s Defender Alerts have sent thousands of appeals to the Cuban authorities calling for their release. Because of the international outcry and pressure generated by dedicated supporters like you, 16 of those imprisoned have been released on medical parole.

But 59 courageous activists and journalists remain in prison. It is past time for them all to be free. Many of those in prison are suffering from serious health problems, which have been triggered or exacerbated by harsh prison conditions.

On this anniversary, call on the Cuban authorities to release the remaining prisoners from the 75 held since 2003, and all of those unjustly jailed simply for promoting human rights.

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 on peaceful dissent the island has seen in recent years. 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.

The activists were charged with “disrespect” toward the Revolution, “treason,” and “giving information to the enemy.” The sentences and evidence strongly indicate that these individuals were wrongfully imprisoned solely for exercising basic rights guaranteed to them in both international and Cuban law. Immediately following the arrests, the international community, including foreign governments, the United Nations, and human rights groups, condemned the arrests as unjust. To date, 16 of the dissidents have been released on medical parole following international pressure; 11 of them currently live in Cuba and could be re-arrested at any time.  Four currently reside outside of Cuba, and one, Miguel Valdés Tamayo, passed away on January 10, 2007, in a hospital in Havana.

Of the 59 who remain in prison, several suffer from extremely poor health and their conditions have been both triggered and exacerbated by an unhygienic environment, substandard care and inadequate medical treatment in prison. Some of the most severe cases include:

• Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet is a physician and president of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, which peacefully promotes human rights and the rule of law. In reprisal for his human rights activities, the 41-year-old Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in prison and has been held in some of the harshest conditions experienced by any of the prisoners, including in punishment cells and solitary confinement, and for lengthy periods of time is denied family visits, the right to leave his cell, and essential packages of medicine and food. Dr. Biscet suffers from chronic gastritis, hypertension and recurring infections, and is reportedly losing his eyesight; his poor health has been severely aggravated by unhygienic prison conditions and harsh treatment. At one point, Dr. Biscet was reported to have lost more than 60 pounds while in prison.



• Normando Hernández González is an independent journalist sentenced to 25 years in prison in the spring of 2003 for his commentaries on Cuban society, including pieces on the Cuban health, educational and judicial systems, and for his promotion of free expression. Mr. Hernández was apparently held in a cell for more than a year with a prisoner known to have tuberculosis, despite repeated objections expressed by him and his family. He was recently confirmed to have contracted tuberculosis and is suffering from high fevers, fatigue and fainting. The doctors at Prison Kilo 7 in Camagüey, where he is being held, are reportedly refusing him adequate medical assistance. There have also been reports that he has been physically assaulted by prison guards.



• Dr. José Luis García Paneque was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2003 for his work as an independent journalist, as well as for his involvement in a civic initiative to promote democratic reforms, known as the Varela Project. Dr. García Paneque’s health has dramatically worsened since his imprisonment; he suffers from intestinal problems that have caused him to lose almost 90 pounds and at one point left him emaciated at a weight of around 110 pounds. He also suffers from rectal bleeding, and has dangerously low blood pressure. Despite these symptoms, his wife reports that he is not receiving adequate medical care and her request for his release on medical parole in November 2005 has not been answered.



• Luis Enrique Ferrer García received a 28-year sentence for his work with the Varela Project, a civic initiative calling for democratic reforms in Cuba. To protest his unjust imprisonment, particularly harsh prison conditions and mistreatment by prison authorities, Mr. Ferrer García has engaged in numerous hunger strikes throughout his detention, often leaving him very ill and weak. In addition, he has been the victim of numerous physical assaults by security guards and violent prisoners, which appear to have been encouraged by prison authorities in order to harass and intimidate him.

In addition to the unjust and severe punishment meted out to these peaceful activists, their families and those advocating their release are subject to continual harassment and persecution. The Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) are the wives and relatives of those imprisoned in the 2003 crackdown and have advocated persistently and peacefully for their release. In addition to official intimidation and persecution, these women face regular harassment in the form of “actos de repudio” (acts of repudation) carried out by mobs of civilians widely believed to be organized by the Cuban government. Oftentimes, these mobs use threats and violence to prevent the women from visiting their husbands or gathering for meetings. In recognition of their courageous work, Human Rights First honored the Ladies in White with its annual human rights award in 2006.

Sample Letter

Raul Castro Ruz
Presidente Interino de Cuba
c/o Cuba Interests Section
Embassy of Switzerland
2630 16th Street NW
Washington DC, 20009
consulcuba@sicuw.org
Fax: 202-797-8521

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my serious concern about the continued detention of 59 peaceful human rights activists and independent journalists who were jailed in March 2003. These men formed part of the group of 75 dissidents sentenced to prison terms of up to 28 years in the spring of 2003 in what became known as the harshest crackdown on civil society seen in Cuba in years. The imprisonment of these activists was and continues to be widely condemned by the international community, including the United Nations, foreign governments and independent human rights organizations.

It has been four years since these 59 individuals were arrested and many have since become severely ill; their poor health has been both triggered and exacerbated by an unhygienic environment, ill treatment and inadequate medical care in prison. As you are aware, 16 of the individuals arrested in 2003 have since been conditionally released as a result of severe health problems that developed during their time in prison.

Among those suffering from serious health problems and inadequate medical care in prison are:

• Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison and has been held in some of the harshest conditions, including in punishment cells and solitary confinement. For lengthy periods of time he is denied family visits, the right to leave his cell, and essential packages of medicine and food. Dr. Biscet suffers from chronic gastritis, hypertension and recurring infections, and is reportedly losing his eyesight.



• Normando Hernández González, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison and was apparently held in a cell for more than a year with a prisoner known to have tuberculosis, despite repeated objections expressed by him and his family. He was recently confirmed to have contracted tuberculosis and is suffering from high fevers, fatigue and fainting. The doctors at Prison Kilo 7 in Camagüey, where he is being held, are reportedly refusing him adequate medical assistance. There have also been reports that he has been physically assaulted by prison guards.



• Dr. José Luis García Paneque, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison and whose health has dramatically worsened since his imprisonment; he suffers from intestinal problems that have caused him to lose almost 90 pounds and at one point left him emaciated at a weight of around 110 pounds. He also suffers from rectal bleeding, and has dangerously low blood pressure. Despite these symptoms, his wife reports that he is not receiving adequate medical care.  

Many other prisoners are in extremely poor health and suffering due to substandard prison conditions and ill treatment by prison authorities and medical staff. While they remain in detention, I ask that you ensure that the conditions of their detention meet basic international standards. The Cuban government should ensure the application of the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the U.N. 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, including the provision that sick prisoners be provided with appropriate medical treatment. These standards also lay out the rights of prisoners to regular correspondence and family visits.

The Cuban government is also obligated by the 1998 U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders – a document that Cuba was active in drafting – to protect the rights of all individuals to freely share information about human rights and advance fundamental freedoms. Therefore, I urge the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release all 59 individuals who remain in prison since 2003, as well as all those who have been imprisoned simply for exercising their right to peacefully promote human rights and basic freedoms.

In addition, I ask that the Cuban government end its systematic intimidation of the family members and activists who have been advocating for the release of these prisoners, including the Damas de Blanco, the wives and relatives of the prisoners, who face regular threats and harassment in an attempt to silence their protests on behalf of their family members.