Fidel Castro Ruz
President
Office of the President
Consejo de Estado
Plaza de la Revolución
Ciudad de la Habana
Republic of Cuba
Fax: (011.537) 81-22-71
Your Excellency:
We are writing yet again to protest the imprisonment of some 26 journalists in Cuba and the unhealthy, inhuman conditions under which they are being held.
Many of the prisoners have been reported to be in very poor health, which is not surprising considering
the conditions under which they are held. We are specifically concerned with the declining health of three: Julio Cesar Galvez, Edel Jose Garcia and Jorge Olivera Castillo.
Galvez, who is serving 15 years, has liver and urinary problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
and had a stone removed from his gall bladder in March. Garcia, also serving 15 years, is blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other. He suffers from severe gastritis, and has developed claustrophobia and depression in prison. Olivera, serving 18 years, has intense abdominal pains and other problems.
The health of these three men will deteriorate if they stay in jail. Earlier this year, three other journalists received medical paroles so that their serious problems could be treated. That small step shows the germ of humanity in your treatment of our colleagues. Of course, they should not be in jail at all. They were sentenced for doing their jobs.
We also have information that yet another jailed journalist, Fabio Prieto Llorente, has gone on a hunger strike for the third time this year to protest the conditions under which he is held. He is locked up with violent prisoners, given poor food, denied the right to fresh air and exposed to the noise of a radio played loudly close to his cell — day and night — deliberately to prevent him from sleeping.
Cuba’s appalling record of persecuting and jailing journalists — matched only by China’s — has, as you must know, provoked world-wide condemnation. Your government is committing grave crimes against human rights. In the name of humanity, we ask that you release these men.
Respectfully yours,
Jeremy Main Kevin McDermott
Freedom of the Press Committee
cc: Hon. Christine Chanet
c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: (011.41.22) 917-9022
James C. Cason
Chief of Mission
U.S. Interests Section
Embassy of Switzerland
Calzada between L and M Streets
Vedado Seccion
Havana
Cuba
Fax: (011.537) 33-37-00
Dagoberto Rodriguez Barrera
Principal Officer
Cuban Interests Section
Embassy of Switzerland
2630 Sixteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Fax: (202) 986-7283
Ambassador Bruno Rodríguez
Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the Republic Cuba
to the United Nations
315 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Fax: (212) 689-9073