CUBA NEWS
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US deplores sentencing of three Cuban
dissidents
WASHINGTON, 19 (AFP) - The United States
condemned Cuba's sentencing of three dissidents
to three years in prison, more than one
year after they were arrested for studying
human rights in a Havana home.
Activists Orlando Zapata, Raul Arencibia
and Virgilio Marante, who were arrested
in December 2002, were charged with "public
disorder, disobedience and resisting authority."
They each received the maximum of three
years in jail after a one-day trial Tuesday.
"The real, quote-unquote, 'crime'
was to study the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights at a home in Havana over a
year ago. And in the year since that, I
would say, innocent gathering, they've been
awaiting trial," State Department spokesman
Adam Ereli said.
Ten dissidents were sentenced to prison
in April after the first political trials
in a year. In April 2003, the summary trials
of 75 dissidents provoked worldwide condemnation
of President Fidel Castro's communist regime.
"These actions are yet another indication
of the efforts by the Castro regime to clamp
down on anybody who dares exercise their
fundamental human rights or criticize in
any way those who are in power," Ereli
said.
"They are indicative of how Castro
has isolated himself and has gained the
opprobrium of the international community."
There are some 330 political prisoners
in Cuba of whom 88 are recognized by international
human rights groups as prisoners of conscience,
according to the Cuban Committee for National
Reconciliation and Human Rights.
Three dissidents sentenced in Cuba
HAVANA, Cuba, 19 (AP) -- Three Cuban dissidents
who participated in a meeting to discuss
human rights were sentenced to three years
each in prison, a local human rights group
said.
Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Raul Arencibia Fajardo
and Virgilio Marante Guelmes were arrested
December 6 of 2002 while meeting in a private
home in Havana to study the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
They were convicted in a one-day trial
Tuesday of contempt for authority, disorderly
conduct and resisting arrest, said Elizardo
Sanchez, the head of the independent Cuban
Commission for Human Rights and National
Reconciliation.
One of the dissidents, Zapata Tamayo, was
adopted as a prisoner of conscience in late
January by Amnesty International.
Family members were the only ones allowed
to attend Tuesday's trial.
Leading dissident Oscar Elias Biscet, a
physician, was arrested in the same 2002
incident. He is serving a 25-year prison
term after being accused of working with
the United States to undermine Cuba's communist
regime.
The latest convictions mark the third set
of sentencing for government opponents in
less than a month, Sanchez said.
On May 5, three other dissidents were sentenced
to prison for four to five years for taking
part in a January 28, 2002 protest outside
a Havana church, where they chanted for
freedom for political prisoners.
At the end of April, a blind lawyer accused
of insubordination to Cuban President Fidel
Castro was sentenced to four years in prison
but then released on parole shortly after.
Other activists he allegedly led in dissident
activities also received prison sentences
ranging from three to four years.
The series of trials are the first major
ones involving Cuban dissidents since last
year's government crackdown, in which 75
government opponents were arrested and sentenced
to between six and 28 years in prison.
Fidel Castro can live to 140, doctor
says
May 19, 2004, Associated
Press
Fidel Castro's doctor denied rumours that
the president's health was ailing, saying
today the 77-year-old leader is in excellent
health and claiming he can live at least
140 years.
Dr Eugenio Selman Housein said Mr Castro
continues to run and swim and pointed to
the president's participation in a massive
protest march on Friday.
Castro led the march past the US diplomatic
mission in Havana to protest US policy against
the island's communist government for about
800 metres, walking slowly and with some
difficulty.
"He is formidably well," Mr Housein
told reporters at a conference on "satisfactory
longevity" in the capital city. The
press "is always speculating about
something, that he had a heart attack once,
that he had cancer, some neurological problem."
But Mr Castro is healthy enough to live
at least 140 years, said Mr Selman, who
heads a "120-years Club" that
promotes wholesome habits for the elderly.
"I am not exaggerating," said
Mr Selman, who believes people are capable
of living five times the number of years
it takes for the human body to fully grow
- which he said is around 25 years.
Mr Selman is never far from Mr Castro and
marched near the leader on Friday. He is
one of 250 medical experts from Latin American
and the United States participating in the
longevity conference, which runs to Friday.
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