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U.S.
notes anniversary of Cuban dissident's arrest
Washington
File. U.S. Department
of State. 05 December 2003.
The United States is noting the one-year
anniversary of the arrest of Cuban dissident
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, says State Department
deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.
In a December 5 statement, Ereli noted
that Biscet and nine other members of his
opposition group were arrested on December
6, 2002, for attempting to organize an event
in Cuba to commemorate Human Rights Day.
Ereli indicated that Biscet was the first
victim in the March 2003 crackdown on dissidents
by the regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Following is the text of Ereli's statement,
with further details:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
December 5, 2003
Statement by J. Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman
U.S. Notes One-Year Anniversary of the
Arrest of Cuban Dissident Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet
The United States notes the one-year anniversary
of the arrest of Cuban dissident Dr. Oscar
Elias Biscet, who was detained December
6, 2002, along with nine other members of
his opposition group, for attempting to
organize an event to commemorate Human Rights
Day. We again call for the immediate release
of Dr. Biscet and the hundreds of other
political prisoners in Cuba.
Like so many other leading members of Cuba's
nascent civil society, Dr. Biscet has been
subjected to systematic harassment and abuse
by Cuban state security. After having served
three years in prison on trumped-up charges
of public disorder, he was released a year
ago, then was again arrested. Biscet was
held until April, when he was charged and
tried with the 75 prisoners of conscience
convicted in regime show trials.
Biscet's real "crime" was to
attempt to teach others about international
human rights practices in a country where
such fundamental rights are routinely ignored
by the government. Recently, he was forced
to serve 21 days in a punishment cell for
assisting both common prisoners and other
political prisoners in demanding recognition
of their fundamental rights. We applaud
Dr. Biscet's courage in the face of overwhelming
odds and extreme adversity.
Sadly, Dr. Biscet turned out to be only
the first victim of one of the most severe
crackdowns the Castro regime has unleashed
on civil society since the beginning of
the revolution. In March of this year, another
75 independent journalists, librarians,
and human rights defenders were arrested,
subjected to sham trials, and sentenced
to lengthy prison terms for exercising fundamental,
internationally protected rights.
We express our admiration for the wife
and family of Dr. Biscet, and the families
of all Cuban political prisoners, for their
courage in keeping the world aware of the
plight of Cuba's pro-democracy activists.
Their activities, such as obtaining thousands
of signatures for the Varela Project, which
calls for a referendum on political and
economic reforms, demonstrate the capacity
of the Cuban people to overcome fear and
promote a peaceful transition to democracy.
(Distributed by the Bureau
of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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