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PRIMA News Agency. Moscow, June
3, 2003.
Havana, CUBA. Cuban political prisoners held in the central prison in
Holguin province have gone on hunger strike to demand access to their families.
Among the hunger strikers is Adolfo Fernandez Sainz, a PRIMA correspondent in
Cuba sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Prior to the Socialist Revolution, the visitation procedure in Cuban prisons
had been regulated by the law on execution of punishments passed in 1936. The
new regime abolished that law in 1979. Now, the visitation procedure in Cuban
prisons follows a certain in-house directive of the Cuban interior ministry. The
contents of this directive is a mystery to all except prison wardens.
The Holguin provincial prison holds seven political prisoners. On their
arrival at the prison, they learned that common criminals are allowed
visitations once in six weeks, while political prisoners are allowed only one
brief visit every four months.
The political prisoners have appealed their sentences and are awaiting a
decision of the appeals instance. In the meantime, they insist that since their
sentences have not been declared final they are entitled to have visits once in
three weeks. Last weekend family members of the political prisoners went to see
them in the Holguin prison, but the prison administration flatly dismissed their
visitation requests.
The seven political prisoners began their joint hunger strike no later than
May 29. Since May 15, all of them have been held in solitary confinement.
Besides PRIMA's correspondent, the Holguin prison 'houses' Cuban dissidents
Angel Moja Acosta, Antonio Diaz Sanchez, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerike, Ivan Hernandez
Carijo, Alfredo Domingez and Mario Enrike Majo. | 
