Health of jailed Cuban journalists
deteriorates, CPJ finds
Committee to Protect Journalists.
New York, July11, 2005-The Committee to
Protect Journalists is very concerned about
the deteriorating health of several imprisoned
Cuban journalists who have been jailed for
more than two years, and it renews its call
for the immediate and unconditional release
of the 23 writers and editors unjustly jailed
for reporting and commenting on the news.
In a series of interviews with relatives
of the jailed writers and editors, CPJ has
found that several journalists who were
ill before being jailed have seen their
health worsen in prison, while others have
contracted new illnesses behind bars. Most
of the jailed journalists are held far from
their homes, adding to the heavy burden
on their families. Adolfo Fernández
Saínz, Víctor Rolando Arroyo,
Fabio Prieto Llorente, and Iván Hernández
Carrillo are among those who are held in
prisons hundreds of miles from their homes.
Journalist Pedro Argüelles Morán,
who is jailed in Nieves Morejón Prison
in central Sancti Spíritus Province,
has developed several ailments while in
prison, including pulmonary emphysema, said
his wife, Yolanda Vera Nerey. He has cataracts
in both eyes and is now virtually blind.
In late June, he was taken to the prison
infirmary after complaining of digestive
problems. Vera Nerey said he also suffers
from inflammation in his knees and legs,
and a doctor has told him he has arthritis.
Journalist Pablo Pacheco Ávila suffers
from high blood pressure, stomach problems,
severe headache, and inflammation in both
knees, according to his wife, Oleivys García
Echemendía. In April, he was taken
to a hospital to be treated for digestive
problems. In early June, he was moved back
to the Morón Prison in central Ciego
de Ávila Province. While at the hospital,
he underwent physical therapy for his knee
problems, which had worsened to the point
that he could barely walk, García
Echemendía said.
Another journalist, Juan Carlos Herrera
Acosta, suffers from heart disease and high
blood pressure, among other illness, according
to his wife, Ileana Danger Hardy. After
being hospitalized in March and May to receive
treatment for his high blood pressure, he
was taken to Kilo 8 Prison in early June,
she said. Danger Hardy said that at several
times during his imprisonment, Herrera Acosta
wounded himself to protest prison conditions
and mistreatment.
Journalist Omar Ruiz Hernández has
been diagnosed in prison with severe high
blood pressure and a dilated aorta, according
to his wife, Bárbara Rojo Arias.
In May 2005, he was taken to a very small
and poorly ventilated cell in Canaleta Prison
after he refused to stand at attention when
a prison officer walked past him, Rojo Arias
told CPJ. During his three days there, in
intense heat, his blood pressure increased.
Rojo Arias said that her husband's diet
was very poor and he relied on the food
she brings him in her visits to prison.
Journalist José Luis García
Paneque has been diagnosed in prison with
an intestinal illness, according to his
wife, Yamilé Llanes. Since December
2004, he has been at the Combinado del Este
prison hospital in Havana. Llanes told CPJ
that her husband's weight has plummeted
from 86 kilograms (189 pounds) before his
imprisonment to his current weight of 50
kilograms (120 pounds). She also said that
his blood pressure was very low and he was
still having bouts of diarrhea. He was being
treated with vitamins, folic acid, and a
nutritional supplement. However, Llanes
said, he hasn't been getting a proper diet
and she has had to bring him food every
two weeks.
Journalist Ricardo González Alfonso
remains at the Combinado del Este prison
hospital, his wife, Álida Viso Bello,
told CPJ. He developed a bacterial infection
after undergoing gallbladder surgery last
January. Although he began taking antibiotics,
the infection didn't disappear, she said.
Journalist Alfredo Pulido López
suffers chronic bronchitis, severe neck
pain, hemorrhoids, and high blood pressure,
according to his wife, Rebeca Rodríguez
Souto. Although he has been treated for
his medical conditions, his health has deteriorated,
Rodríguez Souto said. She said that
when she saw him during a prison visit in
April 25, he looked pale and was very thin.
"The deteriorating health of these
journalists provides a stark reminder of
this appalling situation. The Cuban government
is responsible for this deplorable, ongoing
violation of human rights, and it should
not let another day pass without ensuring
the proper care of these prisoners,"
CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said.
"Better yet, the Cuban government should
immediately release these 23 journalists,
along with the many prisoners of conscience
who were swept up in the government's crackdown
on dissent."
The 23 still in prison were among 29 journalists
jailed in March 2003, when the Cuban government
arrested them as the world's attention was
focused on the war in Iraq. They were convicted
in perfunctory, closed-door trials on charges
of working against the interests of the
state-charges that were based merely on
their reporting and commentary.
Cuba is one of the world's leading jailers
of journalists, second only to China. In
March, 107 prominent Latin American journalists
and writers joined CPJ in a letter to President
Fidel Castro Ruz, calling for the immediate
and unconditional release of all imprisoned
Cuban journalists.
CUBA LINKS:
Read
the letter and get more information about
Cuba's crackdown on the independent press.
Take
look inside Cuba's prisons. See CPJ's interview
with the former jailed editor Jorge Olivera
Castillo.
© 2005 Committee to
Protect Journalists. http://www.cpj.org
E-mail: info@cpj.org
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