Demand that Dangerously Ill Cuban Activist Receive Proper Medical Care

June 4, 2008

When imprisoned Cuban independent journalist Normando Hernandez Gonzalez was sent to the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana on September 14, 2007, we hoped it was a step towards his release. Instead, on May 7 he was returned to an isolation cell in the Kilo 7 Prison. His medical treatment for several diseases has reportedly been stopped and access by his family has been restricted.

The denial of medical treatment to Hernandez Gonzalez, a member of the Grupo de 75 who has been in prison since 2003, appears to be part of a larger response by the Cuban government to disrupt and discredit the human rights community on the island. Other human rights defenders such as the Damas de Blanco have been victims of recent smear campaigns.

Demand that the Cuban authorities immediately and unconditionally release Normando Hernandez Gonzalez and provide him with adequate medical treatment as long as he remains in detention. Cuba must also respect the right of peaceful human rights defenders to express their beliefs and promote universally-recognized rights.

Tell me more:

Read HRF's statement on the anniversary of the crackdown on Cuban human rights defenders:

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/hrd/2008/alert/56

Sample Letter

President Raul Castro Ruz
c/o Cuban Interests Section
2639 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my deep concern about information I have received that Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, an independent journalist whose health has seriously deteriorated since being imprisoned in March 2003, has been discharged from the military hospital in Havana where he was receiving vital medical treatment. I understand that he has been returned to an isolation cell in Kilo 7 Prison in Camaguey and is receiving insufficient medical attention and very few family visits. I urge you to provide adequate medical care until his prompt release, and to cease other efforts to intimidate or human rights defenders throughout Cuba.

Normando Hernandez Gonzalez is a peaceful human rights activist and independent journalist whose activities are protected by international human rights law. His detention and excessive sentence is a violation of his fundamental human rights. Hernandez Gonzalez is one of 55 activists still held in Cuban prisons since the mass arrests of March 2003, and one of many non-violent prisoners held despite severe illnesses that are caused or exacerbated by harsh prison conditions.

On September 14, 2007, in a welcome step, prison authorities transferred Hernandez Gonzalez to the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana from Kilo 7 prison. His time in Kilo 7, and in Kilo 5 1/2 in Pinar del Rio before that, almost certainly caused his health to severely deteriorate, and vital medical treatment was needed.

While Hernandez Gonzalez and others remain in detention, I ask the Cuban government to guarantee that their conditions of detention conform to basic international standards as defined under 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. These documents enshrine fundamental rights of detainees, including the provision that sick prisoners receive adequate medical treatment. These standards also protect the rights of prisoners to regular correspondence and family visits. Hernandez Gonzalez's return to Kilo 7 and placement in an isolation cell violates all of these principles.

I urge the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, as well as all others held for their nonviolent promotion of human rights and democracy and the peaceful expression of their beliefs. I also urge the Cuban government to respect the fundamental rights of expression and association of all Cubans and to immediately stop the smear campaign, surveillance, and other tactics used to intimidate and disrupt the work of peaceful human rights defenders such as the Damas de Blanco.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I will continue to monitor these cases closely.