The following 32 writers, journalists and librarians were sentenced during one-day trials held on April 3 and 4, 2003 under laws governing the protection of the Cuban state.
Please click here to view a SAMPLE APPEAL on their behalf.
Pedro ARGÜELLES MORÁN: director of Cooperativa Avileña de Periodistas Independientes (Avileña Independent Journalists Cooperative - CAPI) - 20 years (Transferred in May 2003 from Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara to Combinado del Este, Havana) - sentenced under Law 88. *Argüelles (56) reported in March 2004 that he had not been allowed visitors or medicine since November 2003. Also reported that he was suffering from cataracts and had lost a lot of weight.
Víctor Rolando ARROYO CARMONA: journalist (Unión de Periodistas y Escritores de Cuba Independiente- Independent Cuban Union of Journalists and Writers - UPECI & CubaNet)& librarian (Reyes Magos Library) - 26 years (Chafarina, Guantánamo) - sentenced under Article 91. On 26 May 2003, Arroyo's wife reported that he had been moved from his special hardship cell to a bedless punishment cell for refusing to stand to attention in front of a prison guard. Arroyo reported having been taken from his cell by three prison guards on 31 December 2003 and beaten about the face and body. Honorary member: Finnish PEN
Mijaíl BÁRZAGA LUGO: journalist (Agencia Noticiosa de Cuba) - 15 years (Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara) - sentenced under Law 88. *Reported to have suffered from conjunctivitis after a month in a punishment cell in September/October 2003. Bárzaga is 35-years-old and brother of well known human rights activist Belkis Bárzaga Lugo. Honorary Member: Netherlands PEN
Oscar ESPINOSA CHEPE: economist and journalist (Cubanet) - 20 years
(Transferred in early July 2003 from Chafarina, Guantánamo to Boniato, Santiago de Cuba). Sentenced under Articles 7 & 11 of Law 88 ("activities against the integrity and sovereignty of the State") and Article 91. 62-years-old. Reported to be suffering from a chronic kidney condition, a thoracic hernia, hypertension, weight loss and a possible liver disorder. Transferred to Guantánamo Provincial Hospital shortly after being sentenced and thence to Ambrosio Grillo Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, but reportedly not receiving adequate medical attention. Eventually returned to Boniato prison. On 7 August 2003, on becoming ill again, Espinoza was flown to the Finlay Military Hospital in Havana. *Reported in March 2004 to be suffering from cancer. Honorary Member: Netherlands PEN, Swedish PEN
Adolfo FERNÁNDEZ SAÍNZ: journalist (Agencia Patria) - 15 years (Holguín) - sentenced under Law 88. Reported on 3 June 2003 by Russian news agency Prima News to have started a 13-day hunger strike to demand more frequent visiting rights for his relatives. Reported to have started another hunger strike on 15 August 2003, this time with Mario Enrique Mayo and Iván Hernández Carillo, to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Reported to have begun a third hunger strike on 18 October 2003 with Mario Enrique Mayo in protest at the sending of fellow journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo to a punishment cell. Reported to have been knocked unconscious on 6 December 2003 when he protested against violence used against a fellow prisoner. Honorary Member: English PEN
Miguel GALVÁN GUTIÉRREZ: journalist (Havana Press) - 26 years
(Agüica, Matanzas) - sentenced under Article 91. Sentence confirmed on 3 June 2003 by the Supreme Popular Tribunal. On or around 3 August 2003, Galván (born 1965), was reportedly threatened by the Agüica prison governor with a transfer to Guantánamo prison, over 500 miles away from his family, if he continued passing news to the outside about prison conditions. *Transferred in May 2004 to Block 10 of Agüica prison which houses prisoners considered highly dangerous, including those serving life sentences for murder. Reported that he had been transferred to this block so that the other prisoners would kill him. Also claimed that a prison guard was encouraging other prisoners to attack him physically and sexually. Reported to have a physical disability.
Honorary Member: Sydney PEN
Julio César GÁLVEZ RODRÍGUEZ: freelance journalist - 15 years
(Santa Clara Provincial Prison, Villa Clara) - sentenced under Law 88. Reported in a letter dated 21 July 2003 that he had been diagnosed as suffering from severe cervical arthrosis. *Reported in March 2004 to have been transferred to the Celestino Hernández Robau hospital in Santa Clara suffering from high blood pressure and kidney stones. Honorary Member: English PEN
Edel José GARCÍA: director of Norte Press - 15 years (Boniato, Santiago de Cuba) - sentenced under Law 88.
José Luis GARCÍA PANEQUE: journalist (Agencia Libertad) & librarian (Carlos J Finlay Library) - 24 years (Santa Clara Provisional Prison, Villa Clara) - sentenced under Law 88 and Article 91. Reported to have suffered from mental illness during the first year of his imprisonment.
Ricardo Severino GONZÁLEZ ALFONSO: president, Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society,director of De Cuba magazine, and librarian (Jorge Mañach Library) - 20 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey) - sentenced under Article 91. Reported in November 2003 to have developed a nodule in his throat. González Alfonso (53) declared the start of a hunger strike on 8 December 2003 to back up his demand that he be transferred to a wing of his prison where he can be held with other political prisoners rather than common criminals who he claims have harassed him. On 14 December 2003, as a reprisal for his hunger strike, the prison authorities moved him to a cell where the lights are never switched off. Reportedly underwent an operation on 19 December 2003 to remove two nodules from his throat. *Reported in January 2004 not to have received a biopsy he had been previously told was necessary. Honorary member: Finnish PEN
Léster Luis GONZÁLEZ PENTÓN: journalist (Movimiento Democracia) and member of human rights movement ALFA-3 - 20 years (Kilo 7, Camagüey) - sentenced under Article 91. *Reportedly held a hunger strike with fellow prisoner Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta from 18-22 March 2004 to mark their first year in prison. Born in February 1977, he is the youngest of the 75 opposition members arrested in March 2003. Reported to have been transferred to from Kilo 8 prison, Camagüey, to Kilo 7 prison, also in Camagüey.
Alejandro GONZÁLEZ RAGA: freelance journalist - 14 years (Canaletas, Ciego de Ávila) - sentenced under Article 91.
Iván HERNÁNDEZ CARRILLO: journalist (Agencia Patria) and librarian (Juan Gualberto Gómez Library) - 25 years (Holguín) - sentenced under Law 88. Reported to have started a 13-day hunger strike on 15 August 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Mario Enrique Mayo to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Reportedly transferred to a punishment cell on 17 October 2003, though the reasons for this are not known.
Normando HERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ: director of Colegio de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey (Camagüey College of Independent Journalists), journalist (CubaNet) - 25 years (Kilo 5½ prison, Pinar del Río) - sentenced under Article 91 and other provisions of the Criminal Code. Born c.1970. Reported on 5 June 2003 to be suffering from very high blood pressure. Reported to have begun a hunger strike in protest at prison conditions on 31 August 2003. *Transferred from Boniato prison, Santiago de Cuba to Kilo 5½ prison, Pinar del Río. Reported to have been held in solitary confinement since beginning his sentence. Also reported in January 2004 to be suffering from high blood pressure and undiagnosed heart problems, and to have been assaulted by the prison's Security Chief, Ramón Beúne. The prison authorities have apparently denied both the attack and Hernández' illness. In a letter, a fellow prisoner claimed in January that Hernandez was in a 2m2 cell that the prison authorities had made him share with dangerous or mentally disturbed prisoners. Moved on 25 February 2004 from a punishment cell to a more standard cell. Hernández reported in March 2004 that his wife was stripped naked and interrogated by the prison authorities before being allowed to visit him. Reported in the same month to be suffering from abdominal problems. *On 7 May 2004 was transferred to Block 8, a section housing common criminals, and was beaten by prison guards for shouting anti-Castro slogans. Reportedly staged a hunger strike in protest at the move the same day as his transfer, and was sent to a punishment cell later the same month. Eventually gave up his hunger strike, presumably after coming to some agreement with the prison authorities over the cell in which he would be detained.
Juan Carlos HERRERA ACOSTA: journalist (Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental (Eastern Free Press Agency - APLO)) - 20 years (Kilo 7, Camagüey) - sentenced under Law 88. Reported to have begun a hunger strike in protest at prison conditions on 31 August 2003. *Transferred from Boniato prison, Santiago de Cuba, to Kilo 7 prison, Camagüey. In January 2004, Herrera complained of cardio-vascular problems, and the fact that he was being held with potentially dangerous prisoners. It was reported in February 2004 that Herrera had accused Captain Julio César Bombino González of organising a group of prisoners to harass him and steal his possessions. Held a hunger strike with fellow prisoner Léster Luis González Pentón from 18-22 March 2004 to mark their first year in prison. During the hunger strike, Herrera reportedly cut his own legs repeatedly with a knife. The wounds required several stitches. He also suffers from vitiligo, a complaint causing disfigurement of the skin, and reportedly has no access to treatment for it.
José Ubaldo IZQUIERDO: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) - 16 years (Kilo 5½, Pinar del Río) - sentenced under Article 91. Sentence confirmed on 3 June 2003 by the Supreme Popular Tribunal. Izquierdo reportedly broke his wrist in two places and required stitches in a head wound after falling down some steps in prison whilst handcuffed. *It was reported in March 2004 that his wife was stripped naked and interrogated by the prison authorities before being allowed to visit him.
José Miguel MARTÍNEZ HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (General Juan Bruno Zayas Library), area representative for the unofficial political group Movimiento 24 de Febrero, and involved in Proyecto Varela* - 13 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey) - sentenced under Law 88.
Héctor Fernando MASEDA GUTIÉRREZ: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) - 20 years (Transferred at the end of April 2003 from Manacas, Villa Clara to La Pendiente, Villa Clara) - sentenced under Law 88 and Article 91.
Mario Enrique MAYO HERNÁNDEZ: lawyer, journalist (chief of Agencia Félix Varela) - 20 years (Mar Verde, Santiago de Cuba) - sentenced under Article 91. Reported to have started a 13-day hunger strike on 15 August 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Iván Hernández Carillo to demand decent food and medicine for seriously ill prisoners. Mayo has apparently been refused medicine brought to the prison by his wife to treat his high blood pressure and haemorrhoids. Reported to have begun another hunger strike on 18 October 2003 with Adolfo Fernández Saínz in protest at the sending of fellow journalist Iván Hernández Carrillo to a punishment cell. Transferred in mid-November 2003 from Holguín prison to Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba Province, reportedly to remove him from his fellow hunger strikers.
Juan Roberto de MIRANDA HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (Padre Félix Varela Library) and vice-president of the unofficial Colegio de Pedagogos de Cuba (Teachers College of Cuba) - 20 years (Agüica, Matanzas) - sentenced under Article 91. 57-years-old. Reportedly transferred briefly to a hospital for treatment for a heart problem in April 2003. Also reported to suffer from high blood pressure and a kidney complaint. *Reported in April 2004 not to be receiving adequate medical attention for his high blood pressure.
Jorge OLIVERA CASTILLO: director of Havana Press - 18 years
(Chafarina, Guantánamo) - sentenced under Law 88. It was reported in May 2003 that, due to illness, Olivera had lost 30 lbs (13 kilos) since beginning his sentence. *It was reported in January 2004 that Olivera (42) was being held in solitary confinement and that he was suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and from two parasites - jardia and E-Coli.
Pablo PACHECO ÁVILA: journalist (Agencia Patria)- 20 years (Agüica, Matanzas) - sentenced under Law 88.
Omar PERNET HERNÁNDEZ: librarian (20 de Mayo Library, Villa Clara) and leader of the unofficial Movimiento Nacional por los Derechos Humanos "Mario Manuel de la Peña" (National Movement for Human Rights) and involved in the Proyecto Varela* - 25 years (Guanajay, Havana) - sentenced under Article 91. Born c.1945. *Reported in May 2004 to be suffering from staphylococcus in the kidneys, an inflamed bladder and high blood pressure, and to have been transferred to the prison wing of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes hospital in Bayamo, Granma province.
Fabio PRIETO LLORENTE: freelance journalist and member of the Asemblea para la Sociedad Civil (Civil Society Assembly) - 20 years (Kilo 8, Camagüey) - sentenced under Article 91. LLorente (born 1964) was reportedly ordered to spend 21 days in solitary confinement in August 2003 for having offended a state security official. *Reported in January 2004 to be held in solitary confinement in reprisal for starting a hunger strike in protest at being held with common criminals, some of whom Prieto claimed were dangerous. Also reported to be suffering from high blood pressure. Transferred from Guanajay prison in Havana to Kilo 8, Camagüey. Honorary Member: English PEN
Alfredo PULIDO LÓPEZ: human rights activist and journalist (Agencia El Mayor) - 14 years (Combinado del Este, Havana) - sentenced under Article 91.
José Gabriel RAMÓN CASTILLO: journalist (Instituto Cultura y Democracia (Culture and Democracy Institute) & CubaNet) - 20 years (Santa Clara Provisional Prison, Villa Clara) - sentenced under Law 88.
Blás Giraldo REYES RODRÍGUEZ: librarian (20 de Mayo Library, Sancti Spiritus) and member of Proyecto Varela* steering committee in Sancti Spíritus (Proyecto Varela is a petition calling for a referendum on legal reform with the goal of greater personal, political and economic freedoms and an amnesty for political prisoners) - 25 years (Agüica, Colón) - sentenced under Law 88. Honorary Member: Sydney PEN
Raúl RIVERO CASTAÑEDA: poet, director of CubaPress, co-founder of Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society, and librarian - 20 years (Canaletas, Ciego de Avila) - sentenced under Article 91. 57-years-old. Prior to his arrest on 20 March 2003, Rivero had signed, with other intellectuals, an open letter to the Cuban government calling for more openness and freedom in Cuba. For this and other alleged crimes he was charged with "acting against Cuban independence and attempting to divide Cuban territorial unity", as well as with writing "against the government", organising "subversive meetings" at his home, and collaborating with US diplomat James Cason. It was reported on 22 May 2003 that Rivero was being held in darkness in a cell measuring three square metres. Awards: PEN USA West Freedom To Write Award 2003; 2004 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Reported in August 2003 to be suffering
from circulatory problems and severe weight loss. Honorary Member:
Finnish, Canadian, American, English and USA West PEN
Omar RODRÍGUEZ SALUDES: director of Nueva Prensa Cubana - 27 years (Nieves Morejón, nr Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus) - sentenced under Article 91. Reported in December 2003 to have been transferred from Kilo 8 prison in Camagüey to Nieves Morejón. Honorary member: Finnish PEN
Marta Beatriz ROQUE CABELLO (f): author and economist - 20 years (Manto Negro, Havana) - sentenced under Article 91. Arrested while on hunger strike in support of people she considered political prisoners. Suffers from rheumatism. It was reported on 9 June 2003 that she had lost 30 lbs (13 kilos) in weight due to health problems including vomiting and diarrhoea. Has previously served time for her writing. She was released in May 2000 after serving three years of a four-year sentence for her co-authorship of a document which urged the Cuban government to hold democratic elections, liberalise the economy and improve human rights. Roque was transferred to a hospital on 23 July 2003 suffering from chest pains and nose bleeds brought on by high blood pressure. She was diagnosed as diabetic in August 2003. Reported still to be in hospital in November 2003 suffering from a variety of ailments. *In February 2004, Roque (58) wrote a letter complaining that she was not receiving adequate medical attention in the Carlos J. Finlay military hospital, and that she was in pain due to an untreated bacterial complaint. Reported in April to be refusing medical attention in protest at televised claims by government minister Felipe Pérez Roque that she was in good health and had been receiving marvellous medical care. Honorary Member: Finnish, Canadian and English PEN
Omar Moisés RUÍZ HERNÁNDEZ: journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) - 18 years (Guantánamo) - sentenced under Article 91. Reported in August 2003 to have been transferred to a solitary confinement cell. In September 2003, hospital doctors stated that Ruiz was not suffering from prostate inflamation, despite the fact that a urologist had previously declared that he was. *Transferred from Boniato prison, Santiago de Cuba, to Guantánamo Provinicial prison. Date of transfer unknown. No longer in a punishment cell but is detained alongside common criminals. Honorary Member: Swedish PEN
Miguel SIGLER AMALLA (also AMAYA): librarian (General Pedro Betancourt Library) - 26 months (sic) (Matanzas) - sentenced under Law 88. *Reported in April 2004 to have been assaulted by a 'prison re-educator'.
OTHER MAIN CASES
Léster TÉLLEZ CASTRO and Carlos BRIZUELA YERA: director of the Agencia de Prensa Libre Avileña (Avileña Free Press Agency), and the Cooperativa de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey (Camagüey Cooperative of Independent Journalists) respectively, were handed down prison sentences on 27 April 2004, along with Juan Carlos González Leiva (see "Released" below). At the one-day trial, Téllez Castro was sentenced to three years six months' imprisonment, whilst Brizuela Yera was handed a three-year sentence. On account of the time the two had already spent in prison, it was believed that they would both be conditionally released in the next few days but no confirmation of their release has been forthcoming. González Leiva was sentenced to four years' imprisonment but immediately given a conditional release. The three were charged with insulting President Fidel Castro and disorderly and disrespectful behaviour under Articles 144 and 200-1 of the Cuban Penal Code. At the trial, it was apparently revealed that Téllez Castro was a state security operative but that he renounced his work for the state, stating that his experiences in prison had converted him into a genuine dissident. Téllez Castro and Brizuela Yera had been detained since 4 March 2002 when they formed part of a group of human rights activists who staged a peaceful protest at a hospital in support of a reporter, Jesús Alvarez Castillo, who had earlier been assaulted by police. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has formally adopted the cases of Léster Téllez Castro, Carlos Brizuela Yera.
Jesús ALVAREZ CASTILLO, a Cuba Press journalist, faces a prison sentence of between six to twelve months for his refusal to testify in the trial of the six activists who protested at the hospital on 4 March 2002. Alvarez refuses to sign a document that states that he witnessed the alleged illegal activities of the group. He claims he was only semi-conscious due to the beating he received from police and was therefore unaware of what was happening around him. He also faces a second sentence of between three and eight years for having the reported on the events that resulted in his arrest. Castillo continues to be held in prison, awaiting trial.
HOUSE ARREST
The following were arrested in the March 2003 crackdown on so-called anti-patriots and have been placed under house arrest:
The following were arrested in the March 2003 crackdown on so-called anti-patriots and have been placed under house arrest (see above):
Roberto GARCÍA CABREJAS: journalist (Instituto Cultura y Democracia -(Culture and Democracy Institute).
Adela SOTO ÁLVAREZ (f): freelance journalist. *Reported in March 2004 to be circulating freely again.
BRIEF DETENTION/ATTACKED
Ricardo ROSELLÓ: freelance journalist reporting for the US-based websites Cubanet and Carta de Cuba, was reportedly assaulted by a neighbour on 4 June 2004 for being a "counter-revolutionary". After the attack, Roselló was escorted by a fellow journalist, Crecencia Leonidas Suárez (f), to a clinic and then to a police station to make a formal complaint. On arrival, the two journalists were conducted to the Punto 30 police station where they were interrogated by the a Counter-Intelligence officer. Leonidas Suárez was released in the early hours of the following day but Roselló was held for 32 hours in total before being released.
BRIEF DETENTION/FACING POSSIBLE CHARGES
Abel ESCOBAR RAMÍREZ: reporter with the independent news agency Cuba Press, was arrested by National Revolutionary Police on 29 October 2003 near the town of Morón. He was released on 1 November. Escobar's home was searched whilst he was detained and more than 300 books and magazines were confiscated. It is not clear whether he faces charges.
Omar Darío PÉREZ HERNÁNDEZ: journalist with the Nueva Prensa Cubana agency, faces possible charges under Law 88 of "alignment with imperialist interests to subvert the internal order of the nation and destroy its political, economic and social system". Pérez was detained for five hours in the city of Camagüey on 21 July 2003 during which time he was given the warning by a state security official.
BRIEF DETENTION/THREATENED
Claudia MÁRQUEZ LINARES (f): director of the magazine De Cuba and columnist for the US-based San Antonio Express, was arrested in Havana on 29 October 2003 and questioned for two hours before being released. Márquez (26) was apparently told by a police captain that De Cuba's publication violated Law 88 and "would no longer be allowed". When Márquez Linares replied that she regarded Law 88 to be invalid, her interrogator reportedly asked her, "Do you love your son?" - an allusion to the fact that if she were imprisoned there would be no one to look after her six-year-old son as her husband, fellow journalist Héctor Maseda, is currently serving a 20-year prison term (see entry above). Márquez has been director of the magazine since the arrest and subsequent sentencing in April 2003 of then director Ricardo González (see entry above). The most recent issue focused on the journalists sentenced in the March 2003 crackdown by the Cuban authorities. Márquez has also taken over the running of the Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Society since the detention of its former leaders.
HARASSMENT
Librada ALVAREZ LEYVA (f): director of the Jorge Mas Canosa Library, was reportedly visited at her home in Camagüey on 1 August 2003 by state security officials who warned her that her conditional release would be revoked if she continued to entertain "counter-revolutionaries" at her home. Alvarez has previously served a prison sentence for alleged political activities.
María del Carmen CARRO (f): journalist and former director of the now defunct Cuba Free Press, reported in December 2003 that she had been subject to police harassment ever since the crackdown on the independent press in Cuba in March 2003. The harassment has apparently included a continual police presence outside her house in Guanabacoa; and the placing of an American flag in her garden next to a placard with the word "mercenary" on it. Carro also reported receiving anonymous phone calls in the early hours of the morning.
Ernesto ROQUE CINTERO and Anna Rosa VEITÍA BECQUER (f):
independent journalists, were reportedly visited in their
home on 14 May 2003 by agents from the political police and
informed that they would be charged under Law 88 if they continued
working as journalists. Roque and Veitía are husband and wife.
Ernesto Roque was reported to have been threatened with a
prison sentence by state security agents on or around 3 July 2003.
The officers took Roque to a police station in
Habana and gave him an official warning that if he continued
working for the news website CubaNet and Radio Martí he would face a long prison term.
RELEASED
Carmelo Agustín DÍAZ FERNÁNDEZ: journalist (Agencia de Prensa Sindical Independiente de Cuba (Cuban Independent Union Press Agency) & CubaNet), was released on health grounds on 18 June 2004 after having served fifteen months of a fifteen-year sentence. He had been charged under Article 91 of the Cuban Penal Code which deals with those deemed to have acted against the "independence of the territorial integrity of the state". In December 2003, he was transferred from Guanajay Prison to the prison hospital at Combinado del Este, where he remained up until his release.
Díaz (67), who is suffering from cardiac problems including high blood pressure, has stated that he hopes to emigrate to the United States if he is granted a visa. Under the terms of his release he is effectively still under house arrest. He is the first journalist to have been released amongst the 34 journalists and librarians detained in March 2003.
Carlos Alberto DOMINGUEZ: journalist with the independent news agency Cuba-Verdad, was released on 8 June 2004 on account of the state of his health. The journalist had been suffering from hypertension, migraines, insomnia and glaucoma. Domínguez (51) was arrested on 24 February 2002 and was initially held in Havana's Valle Grande prison awaiting trial accused of "insult" and "public disorder" under the wide-ranging Law 88. He had been transferred to the Combinado del Este prison in October 2002.
Bernardo ARÉVALO PADRÓN: journalist and director of Linea Sur Press, an independent press agency based in Cienfuegos. Sentence: 6 years. Released: 13 November 2003, having served all but two days of his sentence. Although Padrón became eligible for early release once he had served three years, the Cuban authorities refused to set him free, arguing that he had not been sufficiently re-educated. Awards: 2003 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Honorary member: Catalan, English, Peruvian, Canadian, Italian, American PEN and PEN USA West.
Juan Carlos GONZÁLEZ LEIVA: lawyer, human rights activist and librarian,
was sentenced on 27 April 2004. At the one-day trial, González Leiva was charged with insulting President Fidel Castro and disorderly and disrespectful behaviour under Articles 144 and 200-1 of the Cuban Penal Code. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment but immediately given a conditional release because of the time he had already spent in custody. González had been detained since 4 March 2002 when he formed part of a group of human rights activists who staged a peaceful protest at a hospital in support of a reporter, Jesús Alvarez Castillo, who had earlier been assaulted by police.
Julio Antonio VALDÉS: librarian - 20 years (Canaleta) - sentenced under Law 88 in April 2003. Also charged with "founding a self-proclaimed independent library" to "ideologically subvert the reader with the clear purpose, by means of inducing confusion, to recruit persons for the counter-revolution..." Valdés (52), was released on 14 April 2004 on humanitarian grounds due to a kidney disease which is now reportedly far advanced.
Manuel VÁZQUEZ PORTAL: novelist, poet and journalist (Grupo de Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet), was conditionally released on 24 June 2004 having served fifteen months of a eighteen-year sentence. Vázquez Portal, who was serving his term in Boniato prison, became the sixth of the 75 opposition figures sentenced in April 2003 to be released. All six have suffered from poor health whilst in prison. The journalist had been sentenced in April 2003 under Law 88, a catch-all piece of legislation designed to punish those deemed to have subverted "the internal order of the Nation and destroying its political, economic, and social system". In January 2004 he was transferred to the prisoners' wing of the Ambrosio Grillo hospital in Santiago de Cuba on 5 January 2004 with suspected emphysema. Reported in April 2004 to be suffering from scabies through lack of water with which to wash. Began a hunger strike on 30 April 2004 to protest against prison conditions. Winner of the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2003 International Press Freedom Award. Honorary Member: Scottish PEN, Swedish PEN
RELEASED/DEPORTED
Günter HOTZE: author, arrested on 3 August 2003 on arrival at Havana airport. Hotze, a German, is the author of a book on Cuba that is critical of President Fidel Castro. He was apparently returning to Cuba to research a follow-up book when he was arrested. *It has since been claimed by the Cuban authorities that Hotze's detention stemmed from an alleged incidence of domestic violence. He was deported from Cuba on 28 November 2003. All charges against him have been dropped.
*Proyecto Varela is a petition calling for a referendum on legal reform with the goal of greater personal, political and economic freedoms and an amnesty for political prisoners.
"Both [fellow journalist in prison] Léster González Pentón and I have
made it know to the oppressors that the methods they use violate
the principles of international treaties on the treatment of
prisoners. Various officers have threatened to remove forcibly
my "75" badge [a reference to the 75 dissidents sentenced in April 2003] which I wear with pride. I have let them know that I won't be parted from it whatever the cost - even
if they keep me from my family for the rest of my life."
- Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta (Kilo 7 Prison, 20 years)
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