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Dissident says Cuba banned him from German trip
Friday, December 8, 2006
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters): Cuban authorities have banned dissident Guillermo Farinas from travelling to Germany to collect a human rights award because he is in a wheelchair, a German newspaper quoted him as saying on Thursday.
The opposition journalist, who ended a seven-month hunger strike over Internet access on Aug. 31, told the weekly newspaper Die Zeit that he would not be able to collect the prize in the eastern city of Weimar on Sunday.
"A secret services officer came to my house and said the sight of me in a wheelchair would damage the appearance of the Cuban revolution," he told the paper.
It reported that Farinas had been in a wheelchair ever since his hunger strike which also gave him heart problems.
Other dissidents said at the time he had lost so much weight by the time he ended his fast that his life was at risk.
He began the hunger strike to demand the right to freedom of information be respected by President Fidel Castro's government.
Like China, Cuba controls access to the Internet.
Many dissidents are behind bars in Cuba, although the country made its first release of a prominent government opponent under acting President Raul Castro on Wednesday when it freed Hector Palacios.
Farinas also told Die Zeit he admired the way Germans had left fascist totalitarianism behind and also brought an end to communist totalitarianism.
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