Six opposition figures of the Pro Human Rights Party in Santa Clara, Cuba have been on a hungerstrike for the past four days since one of them was transferred from a hospital to prison informed Luis Ramón Hernández, presidente of the Acción Democrática movement.

The fasters were recuperating in the Hospital San Juan de Dios from a partial fast of 120 days when Ivan Lema Romero was transferred back to the Provincial Prison in Villa Clara. The activists had accepted to end the fast at the beginnings of February and leave Cuba in exchange for their liberty, due to this they were retained in the hospital San Juan de Dios in Santa Clara.

Armando Ocaqa, member of the mentioned party and doctor of the group, he stated that the authorities had said that they were taking Lema Romero to a dental clinic. It was then that his compatriots decided to return to a new fast this time only with water.

Since February 25, another 2 members of the organization have been taken out of the hospital. Daulia Carpio Matas,taken to the women's prison in Guajamal,and José Manuel Llera. Hours later José Antonio Alvarado were sent to the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital. Only Lilian Meneses and Ileana Peñalver remained in the hospital.

The mothers of some of the detained traveled Thursday to Havana to obtain interviews with functionaries of diverse diplomatic missions, among them, the U.S. Interests sections and the embassies of France and Spain, according to Hernández.

"We still don't understand how they have not received political asylum," she said. " The connotation of this case and their labor as opposition figures, we hoped that some embassy would accept them."

Also at the the start of February, a functionary of the State Department announced that the United States would provide visas as long as they "complete the established requirements to emigrate."

The hunger strikers were arrested on October 9, 1997, during a protest against the sentence imposed on Carpio, accused of disobedience. Weeks later a tribunal in Santa Clara imposed 18 month sentences in prison for "associations to cause delinquency."