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Alfredo Manuel PULIDO LÓPEZ: human rights activist and freelance
journalist (Agencia El Mayor). Sentence 14 years. Prison Kilo 7,
Camagüey. Charge Article 91. Transferred in August 2004 Combinado
del Este prison in Havana to Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey. Health
concerns: on 23 May 2007 it was reported that Pulido had recently been
diagnosed with tuberculosis but was being denied medical treatment. The
president of the Cuban Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs (Consejo
de Relatores de Derechos Humanos de Cuba) is reported to have
expressed great concern for Pulido’s health.
José Gabriel RAMÓN CASTILLO: journalist (Instituto Cultura y
Democracia (Culture and Democracy Institute) & CubaNet) Sentence 20
years. Prison Prisión de Jóvenes de Villa Clara. Charge Law 88. Health
concerns/ treatment: Said to have spent a spell in a punishment cell in
November 2004, and to have undergone a hunger strike later that month
in protest at conditions. Ramón also received medical treatment at the
Carlos J Finlay Military Hospital for a heart disorder, high blood pressure,
malfunctioning liver, and problems with his circulatory and nervous
systems. In June 2007 Ramón was reported to be suffering from diabetes,
cirrhosis, hypertension, stomach ulcers, circulation and other ailments
that have seriously weakened him. New information: On 9 July 2007, it
was reported that Ramón’s health had deteriorated, his liver dysfunction
and diabetes in particular. He had also suffered hair loss. According to
his wife, these health complaints are due to the 15 months he has spent in
solitary confinement. On 3 September, his wife reported that for the
previous two weeks Ramón had been refusing to go to the prison hospital
for the insulin injections he requires because when he is taken there he is
handcuffed so tightly that is causes him pain and cuts off his circulation.
She also said that Ramón was not receiving the diet he has been
prescribed, which is also causing his diabetes to worsen.
Blas 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) Sentence 25 years.
Prison Nieves Morejón, Sancti Spíritus. Charge Law 88. In October
2006 denounced flooding in Nieves Morejón prison, which was causing
sanitary problems. Reportedly underwent surgery for intestinal ailments
in a Sancti Spíritus hospital in July 2007. On 17 October 2007, Reyes’s
wife reported that her husband had been threatened with attack by one of
the prison inmates for refusing to hang communist symbols in his prison
cell. She feared for his health and safety. Honorary Member: Sydney
PEN
Omar RODRÍGUEZ SALUDES: director of the independent press
agency Nueva Prensa Cubana Sentence 27 years. Prison Toledo,
Havana. Charge Article 91. In February 2007 reported to have been
transferred from Agüica prison in Matanzas to Toledo prison in Havana.
According to his wife, Rodríguez remains optimistic. Honorary
member: Finnish PEN
Omar Moisés RUÍZ HERNÁNDEZ: freelance journalist (Grupo de
Trabajo Decoro & CubaNet) Sentence 18 years. Prison Nieves Morejón,
Guayos, Sancti Spíritus. Charge Article 91. Prison conditions/health
concerns Reyes has reportedly suffered abuse in prison including solitary
confinements, being held in punishment cell and harassment. He
suffers poor health including high blood pressure, prostate and kidney
problems, an enlarged aorta and an eye complaint.. In June 2007 it was
reported that Ruiz was suffering from high blood pressure and circulation
problems exacerbated by the severe heat and lack of ventilation in the
prison. He had also been diagnosed with a detached retina but was not
receiving any treatment. New information: On 10 August 2007, it was
reported that Rioz was had concerns for his mental health because of
noise made by the other (non political) prisoners in his cell. He had asked
the authorities to be taken to an isolation cell, but his request was denied.
He was taking medication for insomnia. Honorary Member: Swedish
PEN
Other Main Cases
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 semiconscious
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.
Jose Antonio MOLA PORRO: director of the Independent Library
Pedro Luis Boitel, was rearrested on 17 November 2006, after being
released conditionally on 28 February that year. In May 2005 he had
been condemned to two years’ imprisonment as a “pre-criminal danger
to society” (peligrosidad social predelictiva). On the day of his re-arrest
Mola was at home when ten police officers broke in and seized around
hundred books and magazines, and various other belongings. The officer
in charge has allegedly said they had received several reports of robbery
of domestic goods in the community, and that Mola was a suspect. Mola
is the President of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights and member
of the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society in Camaguey. It has
been reported that instead of being released in May 2007 at the end of his
two-year sentence he was informally ordered to serve another year. On
17 June 2007, around 70 people protested in a pacific march in front of
the Office of the Provincial Attorney General in Camagüey, requesting
Mola’s release. As of 30 June 2007, still being detained at Cerámica
Roja prison in Camagüey. PEN is seeking an update.
Raymundo PERDIGÓN BRITO: founder of independent news agency
Yayabo Press, sentenced to a four-year prison sentence by a municipal
court in the central town of Sancti Spíritus, on 5 December 2006. He was
reportedly arrested on 29 November 2006 by the State Security, on
charges on being a “pre-criminal danger to society”, after denying a State
Security order to cease his journalistic activities. On the day of the
announcement of the sentence, around one hundred demonstrators
allegedly attacked the journalist’s relatives. Since his, arrest Perdigón
Brito’s sister has taken over as the editor of Yayabo Press. Perdigón
reported that he had suffered food poisoning in Sancti Spíritus prison on
23 April 2007 caused by negligence on the part of prison staff. He also
reported that inmates were concerned about a sudden increase in kidney
and cardiovascular complaints.
Oscar SÁNCHEZ MADAN: Matanzas correspondent for the Miamibased
Cubanet website. Year of birth: c. 1964 Sentence: four years
Prison: Combinado del Sur, a maximum security prison outside
Matanzas. Charge: Article 72 (“social dangerousness”). Details of
arrest and trial: arrested by the State Security at his home in Unión de
Reyes, Matanzas province, on the morning of 13 April. The same day
Sánchez was tried on “social dangerousness” charges by the Unión de
Reyes municipal court. Family members were not allowed to attend the
trial and Sánchez had no access to legal counsel. Other details: Sánchez
had covered a local corruption scandal in March 2007, along with social