Concerned about the deteriorating health of journalists held in Cuban prisons, English PEN has highlighted the cases of six of them, calling for their immediate release. Cuba is the world´s second most prolific jailer of journalists — second only to the People´s Republic of China. (17-AUG-07)

Report by Philippa Nicholson

On 3 August, English PEN launched a petition calling on the Cuban Authorities to urgently release from prison six ailing journalists on humanitarian grounds.  These journalists were arrested in spring 2003 as part of a crackdown in which writers, journalists and librarians were arrested and sentenced to harsh prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years for simply doing their jobs.  Since then the six journalists have been held in inhumane, overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of detention which has led to the exacerbation of existing health complaints and the provocation of new ones.  None of the journalists have received adequate medical attention and as a result their state of health is said to have dangerously deteriorated. 

The subjects of the English PEN petition, all Honorary English PEN Members, are as follows:

Normando Hernández González was the editor of the independent news agency, Colegio de Periodistas Indipendientes de Camagey and is now serving a 25-year prison sentence.  He has serious intestinal problems which prevent him from eating normally.  He has also tested positive for tuberculosis but is not receiving necessary treatment.  PEN´s petition for his release supports the efforts of his wife, Yara Reyes, who requested a special medical release permit on his behalf over a year ago. 

Pedro Argüelles Morán is suffering from cataracts that have left him practically blind, a benign tumour of the prostate and arthritis. The prison authorities have refused to allow him access to the medicines that his family has been bringing him.  Before his arrest, Morán ran a cooperative of independent journalists in his hometown of Ciego de Avila.  Now he is on hunger strike demanding his right to receive medication.

Fabio Prieto Llorente, a freelance journalist serving a 20-year sentence on the Isla de Juventud, was sent to hospital in May 2007 with acute back and chest pains and low blood pressure, but authorities demanded his return to prison before all necessary tests could be completed.  He continues to suffer from severe pulmonary complications for which the prison authorities are refusing treatment.

José Luis García Paneque, a doctor and head of the independent news agency, Libertad, is serving a 24-year sentence.  In early June 2007, he was sent to hospital in Bayamo where he was diagnosed with a kidney cyst.  When his parents went to visit him at the end of the month, he told them that he had developed pneumonia in the right lung for which he was receiving no treatment.  His suffering is made worse by poor ventilation in the barracks where he is being held.

Adolfo Fernández Saínz, an independent journalist, was diagnosed in 2005 with a number of serious conditions ranging from emphysema to high blood pressure.   He is serving a 15-year sentence.

Julio César Gálvez Rodríguez, a freelance journalist also serving 15 years, was reported in 2005 to be suffering from arthrosis, a degenerative disease of the joints, and high blood pressure.

These cases demonstrate a complete disregard on the part of the prison authorities towards the health and well-being of inmates.  All six of these prisoners are suffering from potentially life-threatening illnesses which will continue to deteriorate if not treated.  The precariousness of life in Cuban prisons was highlighted last month by the death of the dissident Manuel Acosta in Cienfuegos provincial prison in the centre of the country where he had been held for three days on charges of ´pre-criminal dangerousness´.  The authorities claim that he committed suicide. 

There are currently 24 journalists being held in prisons across the country making Cuba the world´s second most prolific jailer of journalists, beaten only by the People´s Republic of China.  A large number of these journalists are suffering from severe health complaints that the authorities are refusing to treat.  On 10 August, at the residence of at US diplomat in Havana, a former political prisoner, Martha Beatriz Roque, held a news conference together with the relatives of a number of political prisoners still in jail, to condemn prison conditions in the country.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for the future.  According to the Human Rights Commission, the number of political prisoners in Cuba has fallen by about 20 per cent since Raul Castro took over as acting president last year.  On 10 August, Francisco Chaviano, a well-known dissident and Cuba´s longest serving political prisoner, was freed after spending nearly 15 years in prison.  Like the journalists in the petition, Chaviano is suffering from serious health complaints including a small tumour on one of his lungs.  Government officials, however, have given no reason for his release. 

To sign the petition, visit English PEN´s Writers in Prison Committee website