Amnesty International believes that there are several hundred prisoners of conscience serving sentences in Cuban prisons. It is impossible to give a precise figure because the authorities do not make such information public and human rights monitoring, by either domestic or international human rights monitors, is severely limited. In fact, several of those in detention have been imprisoned because of their efforts to disseminate information about alleged human rights violations.
Some of the information provided in this document updates cases referred to in Cuba: Renewed Crackdown on Peaceful Government Critics, AMR 25/29/97, August 1997. The majority of the 150 people whose arrest was reported in the earlier document were released, usually after a few days or weeks and mostly without formal charge. However, in most cases they were warned that charges would be brought against them in the future if they did not give up their activities and some have been subjected to further short-term detention and harassment (see below) . A few, including Aguileo Cancio Chong, president of the unofficial Partido Acción Nacionalista (PAN), National Action Party, released in November 1997 and Alberto Perera Martínez, president of the unofficial Comité Paz, Progreso y Libertad, Peace, Progress and Liberty Committe, released in September 1997, were held for between three and six months before being released, apparently without charge. At least one of those who had been detained - Héctor Peraza Linares, a journalist working for the independent press agency Habana Press, Havana Press - was effectively forced into exile after being held for three months, from 23 June until 23 September 1997, by State Security in Pinar del Río. During that period he had no access to a lawyer. He was only released after paying a fine and agreeing to leave the country under threat that if he did not do so, he would be brought to trial on state security charges. On 15 December 1997 he left Cuba for Spain.
Several others of those mentioned in the earlier document were only released after they had paid a fine. It was not clear what the legal basis for the fine was in most cases. For example, Blanca Nieve Cruz Rivera, president of the unofficial Frente Cívico Humanitario Frank País, Frank País Civic Humanitarian Front, who had been detained on 11 July 1997 was only released on 29 September 1997 after payment of a fine. Earlier reports had indicated that she was facing a possible state security charge. Others who were reportedly released on payment of a fine were Heriberto Leyva Rodríguez, of the unofficial Movimiento Cubano Jóvenes por la Democracia, Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, who was released shortly after his arrest on 13 July 1997 despite having been expected to face trial on a charge of “disrespect”, and Máximo Robaina Hernández, a member of the unofficial Frente Cívico Pro Derechos Humanos Máximo Gómez, Máximo Gómez Civic Front for Human Rights, who was detained between 23 June and 24 September 1997 in San Juan y Martínez, Pinar del Río.
Amongst those who have faced further short-term detentions and continuing threats of imprisonment are: Juan Carlos Chávez Ruiz, of the unofficial Movimiento Cubano Reflexión, Cuban Reflection Movement, who was reportedly summoned by police on four occasions between September and November 1997; María de los Angeles González Amaro, of the Agencia de Prensa Independiente de Cuba (APIC), Cuban Independent Press Agency, who was detained briefly in November 1997; Librado Linares García, secretary general of the unofficial Movimiento Cuban Reflexión, Cuban Reflection Movement, who was detained three times in September and October 1997; and Luis López Prendes, a journalist working for the Buró de Periodistas Independientes de Cuba (BPIC), Bureau of Independent Journalists of Cuba, who was detained briefly in November 1997.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Amnesty International believes that the following 24 prisoners are prisoners of conscience, detained solely because of their peaceful attempts to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release:
Ana María Agramonte CrespoSee footnote 1, president of the unofficial Movimiento Acción Nacionalista, National Action Movement, remains imprisoned at the Centro de Reeducación de Mujeres de Occidente, Women's Re-education Centre in Havana (the main prison for women nicknamed "Manto Negro"). She was arrested on 1 May 1997, Labour Day, after reportedly refusing to obey a police order to stay at home that day. She was tried on 16 May 1997 and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, charged with “disrespect” and “resistance”.
Reinaldo Alfaro GarcíaSee footnote 2, vice-president of the unofficial Asociación de Lucha Frente a la Injusticia (ALFIN), Association for Struggle against Injustice, and a member of the executive of the unofficial Partido Solidaridad Democrático (PSD), Democratic Solidarity Party, was detained on 8 May 1997 after reportedly calling for an amnesty for political prisoners. He is being held at the Combinado del Este Prison, Havana province, and is said to be awaiting trial on a charge of "enemy propaganda".
Bernardo Arévalo Padrón, the director of Linea Sur Press, an independent press agency based in Cienfuegos, was detained by State Security on 14 August 1997 in Aguada de Pasajeros and released three days later to await trial. Initial reports indicated that he was to be tried on a charge of “defamation”, reportedly on the grounds that he had insulted various government officials, including President Fidel Castro, in his articles. However, at his trial on 28 November 1997, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for "enemy propaganda", which was confirmed on appeal. He is reportedly serving his sentence in Ariza Prison, Cienfuegos province.
Félix A. Bonné CarcasésSee footnote 3, a former university professor and member of the Grupo de Trabajo de la Disidencia Interna para el Análisis de la Situación Socio-Económica Cubana, Internal Dissidents' Working Group for the Analysis of the Cuban Socio-Economic Situation, was arrested on 16 July 1997, along with three other members of the group. As of December 1997, he was being held in Guanajay Prison, Havana province, where he is awaiting trial on charges which are believed to include “enemy propaganda” and possibly others. He is reportedly suffering from heart problems and diabetes.
Daula Carpio Mata, the provincial delegate of the unofficial Partido Pro Derechos Humanos en Cuba (PPDHC), Party for Human Rights in Cuba, for Villa Clara Province was first arrested on 7 August 1997 in Santa Clara on a charge of “atentado”, “assault”, on the grounds that she had verbally intimidated a prison doctor at the trial of fellow PPDHC member and prisoners of conscience Israel Feliciano GarcíaSee footnote 4 in late July 1997. She was released pending trial and told to remain at home. On 9 October 1997 she was unexpectedly re-arrested and taken to Guamajal Women's Prison, Villa Clara province, to await trial. She was subsequently tried on 29 October and sentenced to 16 months' “correctional work with internment”. Her sentence was ratified on appeal on 8 December 1997. Reports indicate that the prison doctor, who was one of the prosecution witnesses, may have been pressurized by State Security to testify against her. Amnesty International believes that, from the information available, there is no credible basis for the charge against her and that it was brought solely to prevent her from carrying out her peaceful political and human rights activities. She was ordered to present herself at a work centre on 12 December. She did not do so, reportedly for health reasons. She had been fasting since mid-October (see case of Roxana Carpio Mata and others below) and was said to be suffering from sharp pains in her ears and a constant headache. On 16 December she was taken from her home to Guamajal Womens' Prison, despite showing the police a doctor's note recommending she take complete rest. As of early January 1998, she was continuing her fast, reportedly consuming only coffee and water.
Roxana Carpio Mata, sister of Daula Carpio Mata (see above).
When Daula Carpio was re-
arrested on 9 October 1997, a group of twelve PPDHC members who were
gathered together
at the home of Iván Lema Romero (see below) in Santa Clara, started a
fast in protest at the
arrest. Their action, which involved consuming only liquids, attracted
public attention because
it coincided with the state funeral of Ernesto “Che” GuevaraSee footnote 5, whose remains had
recently been
returned to Cuba from Bolivia, and many foreigners, including journalists,
were in the town for
the event. On 14 October police entered the house and at different times
arrested 12 people,
including the mother, sister and 15-year-old daughter of Daula Carpio
Mata. On 23 October ten
of them were brought to trial in the Santa Clara municipal court (the
other two detainees,
including Daula Carpio's daughter, had been released). They were charged
with "asociación
para delinquir", "associating with others to commit a
crime", and "disobedience". Amnesty
Internatinal believes that the action against them was taken solely to
prevent them from
peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of assembly, association and
expression. Roxana
Carpio Mata was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, confirmed on appeal,
and initially sent
to Guamajal Womens' Prison, Villa Clara province, where she continued her
fast. On 20
November she was transferred to hospital where it was discovered that she
was pregnant. She
then reportedly gave up her fast and was returned to the same prison.
Ricardo de Armas Hernández, provincial delegate of the
unofficial Partido Pro Derechos
Humanos en Cuba, Party for Human Rights in Cuba, in Matanzas, was
sentenced in July
1997 to six or nine months' imprisonment after being convicted on a charge
of "disrespect".
He had been arrested on 14 May 1997 and taken to Agüica Prison,
Matanzas. In September
1997 he was reportedly beaten up by two common law prisoners. He may have
been
released since then but this has not yet been confirmed.
Pascual Escalona NaranjoSee
footnote 6 was arrested on 14 June 1997 in Manzanillo, Granma
province, released and re-arrested on 22 July 1997. He was brought to
trial on 24 July 1997
on a charge of “peligrosidad”,
“dangerousness”,See
footnote 7 and sentenced to one year's
imprisonment. Amnesty International believes that the charge was brought
against him in
reprisal for his own activities in defence of freedom of expression and
association as well
as the activities of his wife, Mirta Leiva, who is a correspondent for the
Agencia de Prensa
Independiente de Cuba (APIC), Cuban Independent Press Agency.
Radamés García de la VegaSee footnote 8, vice-president of the unofficial
Movimiento Cubano Jóvenes
por la Democracia, Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, was arrested on
30 April 1997
in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba province. He was sentenced on 17 June
1997 to
eighteen months'
“correctional work with internment”, after being convicted of
“desacato
a la figura del Comandante en Jefe”, “disrespect towards the
Commander in Chief” (i.e.
President Fidel Castro). Initially he was permitted to remain at home
because of ill health
but in mid-July he began his sentence at
Prisión Correccional Pepe Blanca,
Gota Blanca
Reformatory, in Palma Soriano.
Vicente García Ramos. One of twelve PPDHC members who were
arrested on 14 October
1997 in Santa Clara. See the case of Roxana Carpio Mata above for
background. He was
sentenced to 18 months' “correctional work with internment”,
confirmed on appeal, which he
is serving in Villa Clara Provincial Prison. He is believed to have
stopped his fast.
René Gómez ManzanoSee
footnote 9, a lawyer and founder of the independent lawyer's
group
Corriente Agramontista, Agramontist Current, and a member of the
Grupo de Trabajo de
la Disidencia Interna para el Análisis de la Situación
Socio-Económica Cubana, Internal
Dissidents' Working Group for the Analysis of the Cuban Socio-Economic
Situation, was
arrested on 16 July 1997, along with three other members of the group. At
the time of
writing he is being held in Agüica Prison, Matanzas province,
awaiting trial on charges
which are believed to include “enemy propaganda”.
Iván Lema Romero. One of twelve PPDHC members arrested on 14
October 1997 in Santa
Clara. See the case of Roxana Carpio Mata above for background. He was
sentenced to 18
months' imprisonment, confirmed on appeal. He started his sentence in
Guamajal Prison but
was later transferred to Manacas Prison, Santa Clara, Villa Clara
province, where, according
to reports received in early January 1998, he was continuing his fast and
had been transferred
to the prison infirmary.
José Manuel Llera Benítez. One of twelve PPDHC members
arrested on 14 October 1997 in
Santa Clara. See the case of Roxana Carpio Mata above for background. He
was sentenced to
18 months' imprisonment, confirmed on appeal, which he is serving in Las
Grimas Prison,
Placetas, Villa Clara province. As of mid-December, he was still fasting
and was said to be
suffering from pains in his joints, vomiting and dizziness. Reports
indicated that prison
officials had unsuccessfully tried to get common prisoners to provoke him
by offering them
extra privileges. As of early January 1998, he had reportedly been
transferred to a punishment
cell for refusing to work while in prison but was continuing his fast.
Adel Sigfredo Martínez Armenteros, member of the national
executive of the unofficial
Partido Democrático 30 de Noviembre “Frank
País”, Frank País 30th November Democratic
Party, was arrested on 12 September 1997 in Havana and taken to the
Fourth Police Unit. His
mother was told the same day that he would be released on bail within
three days if she paid
1,000 pesos, a large amount of money in Cuba. However, on 15 September
she was told that
it had been decided to bring him to trial next day at Cerro municipal
court on a charge of
“disrespect”. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment
which he is believed to be serving
in Unit 1580 (also kown as “El Pitirre”) in San Miguel del
Padrón, Havana.
Dr Desi Mendoza RiveroSee
footnote 10, president of the Colegio Médico Independiente
de Santiago
de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Independent Medical Association, was
detained on 25 June
1997 in Santiago de Cuba, after making statements, which were disseminated
by foreign
media, about an epidemic of dengue fever in Santiago de Cuba which,
according to him,
had caused several deaths. He reportedly accused the authorities of
covering up the true
extent of the epidemic and of not taking sufficient measures to control
it. He was brought
to trial on 18 November 1997, charged with using the mass media to spread
“enemy
propaganda”, and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. He is
serving his sentence in
Boniato Prison, Santiago de Cuba province.
Cecilio Monteagudo Sánchez, a member of the unofficial
Partido Solidaridad
Democrática, Democratic Solidarity Party, in Camajuaní,
Villa Clara province, was
detained on 15 September 1997. He was due to be brought to trial on 25
November 1997,
charged with "enemy propaganda" on the grounds that he wrote a
leaflet calling on people
not to vote in the local elections that were due to be held in October,
but the hearing was
adjourned. The prosecution are believed to be seeking a sentence of six
years'
imprisonment. He is believed to be held in La Pendiente Prison, Santa
Clara, Villa Clara
province. Also due to be tried in the same case is journalist Juan Carlos
Recio Martínez
(see below). As far as Amnesty International is aware, the trial has not
yet taken place.
Lorenzo Páez NuñezSee
footnote 11, president of the unofficial Centro No
Gubernamental para los
Derechos Humanos “José de la Luz y Caballero”,
José de la Luz y Caballero Non-
Governmental Centre for Human Rights, remains imprisoned at Guanajay
Prison, Havana
province. He was detained on 10 July 1997 in Artemisa, Havana, and tried
the following
day, together with Dagoberto Vega Jaime (see below). Both were charged
with "disrespect"
and "defamation" because of his attempts to disseminate to
contacts in the USA information
about allegations of human rights violations. Lorenzo Páez, who is
also a correspondent for
Libertad, Freedom, an independent press agency which is part of the
Buró de Periodistas
Independientes de Cuba (BPIC), Bureau of Independent Cuban
Journalists, was sentenced
to 18 months' imprisonment.
Héctor Palacio RuizSee
footnote 12, president of the unofficial Partido Solidaridad
Democrático (PSD),
Democratic Solidarity Party, and member of the national coordinating
council of Concilio
Cubano, Cuban ConciliumSee
footnote 13, was arrested on 9 January 1997 following an interview
with
a German television station in which he criticised the Cuban Government
and referred to
declarations made by President Fidel Castro at the Sixth Ibero-American
Summit in Chile
in November 1996. On 4 September 1997 he was sentenced to 18 months'
imprisonment
for "disrespect” towards President Fidel Castro. He had been
serving his sentence in
Combinado del Este Prison, Havana, but on 29 December 1997 was transferred
to Melena
del Sur Prison in Havana province.
Vladimiro Roca AntunesSee
footnote 14, a specialist in international economic relations and
member
of the Grupo de Trabajo de la Disidencia Interna para el Análisis
de la Situación Socio-
Económica Cubana, Internal Dissidents' Working Group for the
Analysis of the Cuban
Socio-Economic Situation, was arrested on 16 July 1997, along with three
other members
of the group. All four are awaiting trial on charges which are believed
to include “enemy
propaganda”. At the time of writing he is being held in Ariza Prison,
Cienfuegos province,
and is said to be suffering from high blood pressure.
Nestor Rodríguez LobainaSee footnote 15 is president of the unofficial
Movimiento Cubano Jóvenes
por la Democracia, Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy. He was arrested
on 8 April
1997 and brought to trial for “disrespect”, and
"resistance”, after criticising the Fourteenth
Youth and Student Festival that was to be held in Cuba later in July and
August. He was
sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment which he is serving in
Combinado de
Guantánamo Prison. After going on hunger strike at the time of the
youth festival, he was
sent to a punishment cell. In September he was reportedly badly beaten by
guards on two
occasions and again sent to a punishment cell for an unknown period of
time. He
subsequently went on hunger strike again for a short period but appears to
have since given
up his protest. After not receiving any family visits for four months, he
was permitted a
one-hour visit from his father on 25 December 1997.
Orestes Rodríguez Urrutinier, acting president (presidente
interino) of the unofficial
Movimiento Seguidores de Chivás, Followers of Chivás
Movement, in Santiago de Cuba,
was arrested in June or July 1997. He was brought to trial on 11 November
1997 on a
charge of “enemy propaganda” and sentenced to four years'
imprisonment which he is
serving in El Manguito Prison, Santiago de Cuba.
Efraín Rodríguez Santos, a member of the Club Pueblos
Cautivos de Cuba, an unofficial
group working for peasants who were evicted from their land during the
1960s, was arrested
on 12 July 1997 at his home in a rural community called Ramón
López Peña in San
Cristóbal, Pinar del Río province,
after reportedly shouting out from his balcony "¡Abajo
Fidel!", "Down with Fidel", and other statements which
were critical of the government.
He was reportedly drunk at the time of the offence. He
was sentenced to 18 months'
imprisonment on 24 September 1997, accused of "desacato a la
figura del Comandante
Fidel Castro", "disrespect to Commander Fidel Castro".
The sentence was ratified on
appeal in October 1997. His place of detention is not known.
Marta Beatriz Roque CabelloSee
footnote 16, an economist and member of the Grupo de Trabajo de
la Disidencia Interna para el Análisis de la Situación
Socio-Económica Cubana, Internal
Dissidents' Working Group for the Analysis of the Cuban Socio-Economic
Situation, was
arrested on 16 July 1997, along with three other members of the group. All
four are
awaiting trial on charges which are believed to include “enemy
propaganda”. In December
she was transferred from the Centro de Reeducación de Mujeres de
Occidente, Womens'
Reeducation Centre, Havana, to the Marianao Military Hospital, where she
was reportedly
being treated for breast lumps. It is not clear whether she is still in
hospital at the time of
writing.
Dagoberto Vega JaimeSee
footnote 17, an activist of the unofficial Centro No
Gubernamental para los
Derechos Humanos “José de la Luz y Caballero”,
José de la Luz y Caballero Non-
Governmental Centre for Human Rights, is serving a one-year prison
sentence in Guanajay
Prison, Havana province. He was detained on 10 July 1997 in Artemisa,
Havana, and tried
the following day, together with Lorenzo Páez Núñez (see
above). Both were charged with
"disrespect" and "defamation" because of their
attempts to disseminate to contacts in the
USA information about allegations of human rights violations.
POSSIBLE PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Amnesty International is monitoring the following cases in order to determine whether those concerned are or may become prisoners of conscience:
Juan Escandell Ramírez is a lawyer who works for an
independent lawyers' organization
called the Corriente Agramontista, Agramontist Current. He has
defended several
dissidents, including prisoner of conscience Héctor Palacio Ruiz (see
above), and is
currently representing Félix Bonné Carcasés (see above). He
has been threatened with
imprisonment on several occasions in the past. After he had been briefly
detained in
February 1996 during the crackdown on Concilio CubanoSee footnote 18, he said that
he had been told
by State Security that they were intending to invent a case against him.
In September 1997,
he was accused of "acoso sexual", "sexual
harassment"
after a woman who had been
visiting his office in San Antonio de los Baños went to the police.
On 8 October 1997, he
and his wife, Yanét Pico Camaraza, were summoned to the military
counter-intelligence
headquarters in Rancho Boyeros, Havana, and told that he was under
investigation for
having written an anonymous letter to an army major inciting him to take
action against the
government.
On 20 October 1997, the couple were summoned to the headquarters of the
Departamento Técnico de Investigaciones (DIT), Technical
Investigations Department, in
Havana, where they were interviewed by two State Security officials.
After one official
referred to the alleged incident of sexual harassment, the other said that
he was there
because he wanted the couple to sign official warnings about statements
they had been
giving to foreign news media. In September, Yanét Pico Camaraza was
briefly detained
on suspicion of trafficking in marijuana but released without charge.
Neither are in
detention at the time of writing and so far no further action has been
taken against them,
though investigations of the alleged charges are believed to be continuing
. Amnesty
International believes that, on the basis of the information so far
available, there is no
credible evidence for the accusations against Juan Escandell Ramírez.
It believes that he
and his wife are being targetted because of his work in defence of
political prisoners.
Alexander Hernández Lago was detained on 23 September 1997
when police went to his
home in Pinar del Río, reportedly without a warrant, to arrest his
mother because she had
failed to pay a bill of 41.5 pesos for water and sewage supplies. Police
reportedly forced
their way into the house and beat both him and his mother. He then went
into the street
with a placard saying “Ya estamos cansados de tanta arbitrariedad
e injusticia, Derechos
Humanos, Artículo 19, ¡Respétense!”, “We are
fed up with so much arbitrariness and
injustice, Human Rights, Article 19, Respect them!”.
He was then handcuffed, reportedly
beaten again, and taken, together with his mother, to Police Unit No. 1 in
Pinar del Río. He
was released on 100 pesos' bail two days later. He was due to be tried on
24 November
1997, accused of "disrespect" and "assault". The
outcome of the trial is not yet known and
it is not clear whether he is at present imprisoned.
Alexander Hernández Lago is reportedly
a contributor to Vitral, an officially-sanctioned religious
magazine published by the Centro
de Información Cívico-Religioso, Centre for Civic and
Religious Information,
Maritza Lugo FernándezSee footnote 19, a member of the national executive
of the unofficial Partido
Democrático 30 de Noviembre, 30 November Democratic Party, was
arrested on 15 August
1997. She was subsequently brought to trial on 5 September 1997 and
sentenced to two
years' imprisonment, charged with "cohecho",
"bribery", on the grounds that she bribed a
prison guard to smuggle money and a tape recorder into Unit 1580 Prison
(also known as
“El Pitirre”) for another political prisoner. Following her
trial she was being held under
house arrest in order to recuperate from a hunger strike carried out while
awaiting trial in
the Women's Re-education Centre in Havana. It is not clear whether she
is currently in
prison. Amnesty International believes that she may have been targetted
because of her
peaceful political activities. Her brother, prisoner of conscience
Osmel Lugo Gutiérrez,
who is vice-president of the same group and was arrested in May 1996, is
serving a prison
sentence of two years and six months for “disrespect”. Both
were reportedly summoned
by immigration officials in May 1996 and offered the possibility of
leaving the country
even though they had not sought permission to do so.
Luis Mario Paredes Estrada, secretary of the unofficial Consejo
Unitario de Trabajadores
Cubanos (CUT), Unitary Council of Cuban Workers, and a member
of the Partido
Democrático 30 de Noviembre Frank País, Frank País 30th
November Democratic Party,
in Manzanillo, Granma province,
was arrested on 4 September 1997 and was going to be
tried the next day for "dangerousness"
. However, after he went on hunger strike, the
hearing was postponed and he was released
until 8 September when the trial took place.
He was
sentenced to one year's imprisonment. He is believed to be serving his
sentence in
Las Mangas Prison in Granma province. It is not clear what the precise
basis for the charge
was but, from the information so far available, Amnesty International
believes that he may
have been targetted because of his peaceful political activities.
Cecilio Ruiz Rivero, a member of the unofficial Asociación
de Lucha Frente a la Injusticia
(ALFIN), Association for Struggle Against Injustice , was reportedly
brought to trial on 24
September 1997 and convicted on charges with "disrespect",
"assault" and "resistance".
He
is imprisoned in Quivicán Prison, Havana province,
but the precise length of his sentence
is not clear. He had been arrested on 14 July 1997. He had served a
previous sentence of
three years' imprisonment for “enemy propaganda”. Amnesty
International is seeking
further information about the reasons for his current conviction.
OTHER CASES OF CONCERN TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International believes that the following six PPDHC members, who were detained on 14 October 1997 together with prisoner of conscience Roxana Carpio Mata and others (see above) after they began fasting in protest at the arrest of Daula Carpio Mata, were arrested in order to prevent them from peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression. At the time of writing, most of them are not believed to be in detention. However, the organization believes that the charges against them should be dropped and that their sentences should be annulled.
José Antonio Alvarado Almeida. He was sentenced to 18 months' “correctional work with internment”, confirmed on appeal, but has not started his sentence. On 22 November 1997, he was hospitalized and placed in intensive care after reportedly suffering a heart attack. On 3 December he was discharged from hospital to his home where he has continued his fast. He is said to have lost about 50 pounds [23kg] in weight. He was told to report to Villa Clara Provincial Prison on 23 December but is believed not to have done so. As of early January 1998, he was again reported to be hospitalized in an intensive care unit but was still continuing his fast.
Arélis Fleites Méndez, wife of former prisoner of conscience Israel Feliciano GarcíaSee footnote 20. She was sentenced to 18 months' “restricted liberty” and a fine. She is no longer fasting.
María Felicia Mata Machado, the mother of prisoners of
conscience Daula and Roxana
Carpio Mata (see above). She was sentenced to 18 months' “restricted
liberty” and a fine.
She is no longer fasting.
Lilián Meneses Martínez. She was sentenced to 18 months' “trabajo correccional sin internamiento”, “correctional work without internment”, confirmed on appeal, but has not started her sentence. She is said to be suffering from dizziness, dry lips and an abnormally rapid heart rate (taquicardia) as the result of her fast which she is continuing. She was told to report to a work centre on 23 December despite having been informed earlier by the director that there was no work for women there. In late December, she was reportedly hospitalized briefly but as of early January had returned home where she was continuing her fast.
Ileana Peñalver Duque. She was sentenced to 18 months' “correctional work without internment”, confirmed on appeal, but has not started her sentence. She is still fasting and is said to be suffering from memory and vision disturbance, loss of feeling in her legs and to have lost a lot of weight. She was told to report for work at the Ovideo Rivero Agricultural Production Centre on 17 December and warned that, if she continued to present medical certificates stating she was too ill to work, her sentence would be changed instead to one of imprisonment. In late December, she was reportedly hospitalized briefly but as of early January had returned home where she was continuing her fast.
Danilo Santos Méndez. He was sentenced to 18 months' “correctional work with internment”, confirmed on appeal, but did not start it immediately. He continued his fast and was said to be suffering from abdominal pain and exhaustion and to have lost a lot of weight. However, as of early January 1998, he was believed to have ceased his fast. It is not clear whether he has now started his sentence.