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Cuba: Release of Incarcerated Dissident
Other Activists and Dissidents Remain Behind Bars
(New York, October 31, 2002) The Cuban government should follow the long-awaited release of prominent dissident Oscar Elías Biscet González by freeing other political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said today. Biscet was freed early this morning, having served out a three-year sentence for protesting government policies.


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"In addition to Biscet, they should release all of the independent journalists, human rights activists, and political dissidents who remain incarcerated in violation of their fundamental rights."

José Miguel Vivanco
Executive Director
Americas Division
Human Rights Watch


 
"We're pleased that Biscet was released, but we wish it would have happened sooner," said José Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. "The Cuban authorities had no legitimate reason to incarcerate someone for three years because he took part in a peaceful protest. In addition to Biscet, they should release all of the independent journalists, human rights activists, and political dissidents who remain incarcerated in violation of their fundamental rights."

Biscet, a 41-year-old doctor, received a three-year prison sentence in February 2000 for protests that included turning the Cuban flag upside-down and carrying anti-abortion placards. The president of the Lawton Human Rights Foundation, an independent organization, Biscet was convicted of dishonoring patriotic symbols, public disorder, and instigating delinquency.

In detention since November 1999, Biscet was reportedly mistreated by prison authorities and kept in poor conditions, causing weight loss and dental problems. At one point during his incarceration, Biscet was reportedly made to share a cell with a mentally disordered inmate.

Cuba continues to detain other prisoners on politically-motivated charges, including blind human rights activist Juan Carlos González Leyva and dissident Leonardo Bruzón Avila.

In July, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional), a respected Havana-based nongovernmental group, released a partial list of political prisoners that included 230 cases they considered to be reliably documented.