Please write a polite letter, or copy the one below, on your personal or institutional letterhead and mail to the following address.

[Date]

Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente
c/o Cuban Mission to the United Nations
315 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10016

Your Excellency,

I am writing to voice my deep concern about the deteriorating health of Normando Hernández González and to express my alarm at the news that he was inexplicably returned to prison after an extended hospital stay.

I understand that on February 25, 2009, Hernández was discharged from a Havana prison hospital and sent back to Kilo 7 Prison in Camagüey. Hernández is reported to have contracted Malabsorption Syndrome, a disease of the intestines causing difficulties in absorbing nutrients that carries with it acute conditions such as malnutrition, heart disease and anemia, all of which are exacerbated by his reincarceration. He is also suffering from an unexplained growth on his Adam’s apple. While reports indicate that he has been visited by the prison doctor, this is no substitute for the medical attention he so urgently requires.

Hernández was arrested in his hometown of Camagüey, along with 74 others considered to be dissidents by the Cuban government on March 18, 2003. Hernández, then 33, was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment under Article 91 of the Cuban Criminal Code for reporting on the conditions of state-run services in Cuba and for criticizing the government’s management of issues such as tourism, agriculture, fishing and cultural affairs. Since his arrest, there have been consistent reports of abuse, appalling prison conditions and denial of medical attention.

I respectfully urge the Cuban authorities to allow Normando Hernández González, as a matter of urgency, to receive medical attention from physicians of his choice. In addition, I request the immediate and unconditional release of Hernández and all writers and journalists held in Cuban prisons in violation of their right to freedom of expression as recognized in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

[Your name and signature]