US accuses Cuba of abusing detained dissidents, renews demands for release

Friday, January 23, 2004

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): The United States on Wednesday accused Cuba of "systematically persecuting" scores of dissidents it detained last year in a nationwide crackdown on the opposition, alleging jailhouse mistreatment and abuse.

The State Department renewed US calls for the immediate release of the 75 dissidents -- journalists, librarians and human rights activists -- who it said had been convicted of trumped-up charges by Fidel Castro's communist government and sentenced to grossly unfair prison sentences of up to 20 years.

"The United States condemns the continued unfair detention of these individuals and calls for their immediate release," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said in a statement.

"As an added injustice, the Cuban government is systematically persecuting these individuals," he said, listing examples of alleged abuse including the placement in solitary confinement of one detainee for three months for protesting prison guards' mistreatment of his wife.

Other detainees, including well-known economist Martha Beatriz Roque and journalist Oscar Espinosa Chepe are in poor health and not receiving appropriate care, Ereli said.

"Neither Roque nor Espinosa Chepe have received adequate treatment for their illnesses and their conditions are deteriorating," he said, adding that Cuba's "deprivation and flagrant abuse" of dissidents was not limited to the 75 jailed after last March's sweep.

He noted the cases of four other prisoners -- human rights activist Leonardo Bruzon Avila, democracy advocates Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva, Francisco Chaviano and Oscar Elias Biscet, who were jailed either before the latest crackdown.

"We express our admiration for all Cuban political prisoners and our solidarity with their families," Ereli said.

"The United States salutes their courage in standing up to tyranny while continuing to insist that Cuba must change, democratically and peacefully." 

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