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CPJ concerned about health
of jailed journalist on hunger strike
The
Committee to Protect Journalists
New York, September 23, 2005-The Committee
to Protect Journalists is concerned about
the health of jailed independent journalist
Víctor Rolando Arroyo who went on
hunger strike two weeks ago and is now in
the prison hospital, his sister Blanca Arroyo
told CPJ. Arroyo refused food to protest
mistreatment at the Guantánamo Provincial
Prison, in eastern Cuba, where he is serving
a 26-year sentence. He is one of 24 independent
journalists behind bars in Cuba.
Arroyo's wife, Elsa González, learned
of the hunger strike from family members
of other dissidents at Guantánamo,
Blanca Arroyo told CPJ. González
made the long journey to the prison from
her home in Pinar del Río on Wednesday
and is still waiting for her visit to be
authorized. According to inmates who have
seen Arroyo and passed information to his
family, the journalist appears very weak
and possibly dehydrated, his sister said.
González has not seen Arroyo for
four months.
"We are extremely concerned about
the health of our colleague and the humiliating
treatment to his family members," said
CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We
renew our demands that the Cuban government
release all 24 independent journalists unconditionally."
Arroyo, 55, a journalist with the independent
news agency Unión de Periodistas
y Escritores de Cuba Independientes (UPECI),
was sentenced in April 2003 for committing
acts "aimed at subverting the internal
order of the nation and destroying its political,
economic, and social system."
CPJ is a New York-based, independent,
nonprofit organization that works to safeguard
press freedom around the world.
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