Release Dangerously Ill Cuban Prisoner

June 20, 2007

Jailed Cuban activist Dr. José Luis García Paneque’s health has recently deteriorated seriously.  Dr. García Paneque was taken to a hospital in Bayamo, Cuba in early June by prison doctors because he was experiencing excruciating pain in his abdomen, and an ultrasound revealed that he has a cyst on one of his kidneys.  Prison authorities say that surgery is required.  Dr. García Paneque’s family fears that he may not survive such an operation.

Dr. García Paneque is a medical doctor and independent journalist from the eastern province of Las Tunas, Cuba, who was arrested in March 2003 as part of a major crackdown on peaceful dissent in Cuba.  He is serving a 24-year sentence for his legitimate, non-violent activities.  As we reported last June, Dr. García Paneque’s health has been perilous for over three years.  He suffers from chronic diarrhea and poor intestinal absorption, resulting in chronic malnutrition.  His weight has dropped by nearly half since his incarceration—from 190 lbs to an emaciated 110 lbs.  He has not received proper medical treatment and has not been allowed to consult with independent medical professionals.

Urge the Cuban authorities to release Dr. José Luis García Paneque immediately and unconditionally, and to provide him with adequate and independent medical treatment as long as he remains in detention.

Background

Dr. José Luis García Paneque was arrested on March 18, 2003, part of a group of 75 journalists, librarians, and non-violent activists detained in a crackdown on dissidents by the Cuban government.  Dr. García Paneque is a member of the Manuel Marquez Sterling Journalists’ Association, an independent professional association which the government refuses to recognize, and is the administrator of the Carlos J. Finlay independent library in his hometown of Las Tunas.  He founded an independent medical association—also unrecognized—and took part in the Varela Project, a grassroots campaign to gather signatures in support of democratic and human rights reforms.  A surgeon by training, Dr. García Paneque was dismissed from the Ernesto “Che” Guevara hospital in Las Tunas for his criticism of government policies.

Dr. García Paneque was sentenced to 24 years in prison on April 4, 2003.  He was initially held in solitary confinement in the provincial prison of Santa Clara, over 100 km from his home in Las Tunas, during which time he developed claustrophobia and began showing signs of weight loss.  He was then transferred through several prisons in Holguín and as far away as “Combinado del Este” prison in Havana.  After his transfer to “Las Mangas” prison in the eastern city of Bayamo in late 2005, his health began to rapidly deteriorate.  In addition to developing digestive problems from the poor prison food and lack of movement and sunlight, Dr. García Paneque was also harassed by the common criminals in the prison.  He even received a death threat, though prison authorities claimed to Dr. García Paneque’s wife, Yamilé Llanes Labrada, that they were unaware of such threats and took no action to ensure his safety.  Yamilé Llanes Labrada is an active member of the Ladies in White, a group of the wives and relatives of imprisoned peaceful activists that advocates for humane prison conditions and the release of their loved ones that was awarded Human Rights First’s 2006 Human Rights Award.  She has stated that Dr. García Paneque cannot digest lactose and gluten, and that such dietary restrictions are not accommodated by the prison diet.  “The things he can eat are very limited,” she says.  Despite the family’s best efforts to meet his nutritional needs—a costly endeavor in Cuba, where many Cubans earn less than $10 a month and basic food staples are scarce—he is extremely malnourished and Yamilé fears that he may never recover.  To date, the family’s requests for his release on medical parole have gone unanswered.

In early June, Dr. García Paneque informed his mother that the prison doctors had taken him to a hospital in Bayamo, Cuba, after he complained of intense abdominal pain.  An ultrasound revealed a cyst measuring 36 by 38 mm on his kidney, which prison doctors want to surgically remove.  Dr. García Paneque’s family fears that abdominal surgery while his health condition remains perilous could be fatal.  They demand a consultation with doctors not affiliated with the prison before proceeding with the operation, and once again have asked for his immediate release from prison. 

Members of Dr. García Paneque’s family, including his four young children, have been repeatedly harassed at home and at school, culminating in their fleeing the island in March 2007.  “I didn’t want to leave,” wife Yamilé Llanes Labrada says, “but my husband said that he was completing his part and I had to complete mine, which was to save the family.”  From the moment Dr. García Paneque was taken prisoner, weekly actos de repudio, or “acts of repudiation,” took place outside of their house.  On August 6, 2006, mobs of citizens surrounded the house, threatening to burn it down and hurling insults like “terrorist” and “gusano” (meaning “worm” in English, gusano has become a politically-charged term in Cuba and is used to insult those Cubans who have left the island).  Yamilé feared for the lives of her children.

The children have also suffered from harassment.  The oldest daughter was “advised” to join the national Communist youth group, the Union of Young Communists (UJC).  She refused, and was not allowed to study information technology, despite having high marks at school.  The youngest children refuse to believe that their father is in prison; they have had to see a psychologist because they are so traumatized.  Dr. García Paneque has rarely been allowed to see his family, and since the departure of his wife and children he has only been allowed to call them once, despite promises from prison authorities that he would be granted monthly calls.

Sample Letter

Raul Castro Ruz
Presidente Interino de Cuba
c/o Cuban Interests Section
2639 16th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued detention of Dr. José Luis García Paneque, an independent journalist and physician imprisoned in March 2003, whose health has seriously deteriorated since he was arrested and who may now require abdominal surgery.  Dr. García Paneque has been held in “Las Mangas” prison in Bayamo since November 2005.

Dr. García Paneque has suffered from intestinal problems that have caused him to lose almost half of his body weight.  He is malnourished and has developed intolerances for lactose and gluten that are not being catered for by the prison diet, in addition to suffering from chronic diarrhea and rectal bleeding.  His wife’s request for his release on medical parole in November 2005 has not been answered, and his health has since further declined.  On June 9, 2007, Dr. García Paneque informed his family that he had been taken to a hospital in Bayamo by prison doctors after experiencing severe abdominal pain.  An ultrasound revealed a cyst on one of his kidneys and prison doctors insist on operating to remove it.

Dr. José Luis García Paneque is a peaceful human rights activist and independent journalist who oversaw an independent library and medical association, activities which are protected by international law.  His detention and excessive sentence is a violation of his fundamental human rights.  Dr. José Luis García Paneque is one of 59 activists still held in Cuban prisons since March 2003, and one of many non-violent prisoners held despite severe illnesses that are caused or exacerbated by harsh prison conditions. 

The 1998 U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that governments should protect the rights of all individuals to freely share information about human rights and advance fundamental freedoms.  Dr. García Paneque has been imprisoned for exercising these basic rights. 

I urge the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, as well as all others held for their nonviolent promotion of human rights and democracy and the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

While Dr. Garcia Paneque and others remain in detention, I ask the Cuban government to guarantee that the conditions of their 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 elaborate the basic standards needed to protect the rights of detainees, including the provision that sick prisoners receive adequate medical treatment.  A second opinion from a medical professional is provided for under these guidelines.  Finally, these standards detail the rights of prisoners to regular correspondence and family visits.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.