Cruel treatment of political prisoners

Cruel treatment of political prisoners
OUR OPINION: FREE CUBAN JOURNALIST BEFORE HIS CONDITIONS WORSEN

Normando Hernández González may die for exercising free speech in Cuba.
An independent journalist, he has been imprisoned since Cuba's crackdown
on dissidents in April 2003. Now he is so critically ill that he was
transferred to a Havana military hospital last week .

It is bad enough that Mr. Hernández González, 39, is serving a 25-year
sentence for criticizing the government, something people in free
countries do every day. Yet things could get worse. Returning him to
prison would be a death sentence. This is where he contracted serious
ailments, chronic digestive disorders and tuberculosis among them. Even
if his condition were to improve in the hospital, he would not last long
in the filthy cells and eating the food given to political prisoners.

The hope now is that Cuba will free Mr. Hernández González and allow him
to leave the country -- and soon. International pressure is needed.

To their credit, legislators in Costa Rica granted Mr. Hernández
González a humanitarian visa in April. Cuban authorities refused to
honor the visa. But a recent move appeared to get Cuba's attention. José
Manuel Echandi Meza, a Costa Rican lawmaker, filed a formal complaint
with the U.N. Human Rights Commission two weeks ago that accuses Cuba of
torturing Mr. Hernández González by denying him proper medical
treatment. The following day, he was sent to the Havana hospital. He
appears to be getting some medical treatment, according to his wife.

That wasn't the case before. Mr. Hernández González has been
deteriorating since his first year in prison. He has been beaten, placed
in solitary confinement and repeatedly denied access to basic medical
care. He blames overcrowded, vermin-filled cells and contaminated food
and water for his multiple illnesses. He suffers nausea, diarrhea,
fever, fainting spells and weight loss.

Last December, he was rushed from his prison to a hospital in Camagüey.
There he was placed in a room with no furniture. His food was thrown
under the door. He returned to prison untreated. While Cuba boasts of
its healthcare system, it denies political prisoners basic care.

PEN, a writers advocacy group, awarded Mr. Her nández González its
prestigious Freedom to Write Award earlier this year. For more
information on his case, go to PEN's website at www.pen.org. Let the
world know that Mr. Hernández González and hundreds of other political
prisoners haven't been forgotten. All of them should be released.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/256354.html