CUBAN INMATES DECRY LACK OF MEDICAL CARE, FRESH AIR

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 023502

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI CU
SUBJECT: CUBAN INMATES DECRY LACK OF MEDICAL CARE, FRESH AIR


Classified By: COM Michael Parmly for Reason 1.4(d).


1. (C) In a relatively rare move, Cuba's Foreign Ministry has
accepted and promised to respond to a letter from prisoners
denouncing conditions at Kilo 5 prison in Pinar del Rio. The
letter, dated November 1, was written by a common prisoner,
Nestor Hernandez Escalona, and signed by 13 others, three of
them political prisoners. The letter accuses Cuban
authorities of denying inmates medical care and states that
some have been waiting years for operations. Access to fresh
air is "shamelessly" restricted, the letter says, with yard
time available only on Thursdays and Fridays for less than
one hour. A copy of the letter was shared with us on November
13 by Alejandrina Garcia de la Riva, wife of Diosdado
Gonzalez Marrero, who signed the note and is among the 75
peaceful activists imprisoned in the March 2003 crackdown. A
clerk at the Foreign Ministry signed a copy of the letter and
promised a response. (Note: Garcia de la Riva told us that
guards at Kilo 5 are pitting "privileged" inmates against her
husband, who is attempting to be moved to a different cell
block. End Note.)


2. (C) Other sources have borne witness to the continuing
suffering at Cuban prisons. Oswaldo Paya, Christian
Liberation Movement (MCL) leader, on November 7 quoted the
MCL's Luis Enrique Ferrer as saying that at his prison, Mar
Verde in Santiago, water for bathing has been unavailable for
nearly a month. At Camaguey's Kilo 7 prison, Paya said,
unhygienic conditions are worsening the health of MCL member
Alfredo Pulido Lopez, who has lost weight and is suffering
from stomach, respiratory and cardiac ailments. Ana
Aguililla, wife of Cuba's longest-serving political prisoner,
Francisco Chaviano Gonzalez, told us November 9 that her
husband, already ailing from a lung tumor, has developed a
second tumor in his other lung, and that it seems to have
metastasized. (Note: Aguililla also said State Security has
set up a new post on her block, inside a daycare center, to
better monitor those who visit her home. End Note.)

COMMENT
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3. (C) We have seen no significant change in prison
conditions since the July 31 "proclamation" that handed power
to Gen. Raul Castro. It would be a mistake to think that
political prisoners are the only ones suffering behind bars;
less than 315 political prisoners and detainees are
documented in Cuba, out of a total prison population of
between 80,000 and 100,000. Martha Beatriz Roque told P/E
Counselor last week that guards rammed a truncheon up a
26-year-old common prisoner's anus and ruptured his bladder
and intestines. There is little doubt, however, that
political inmates are targeted for special (mis)treatment,
particularly those who refuse to wear a prison uniform or
attend reeducation classes. Beatings and stints in
"punishment cells" are common. The Foreign Ministry's
decision to accept the letter from inmates at Kilo 5 probably
stems from the fact that its accusations are relatively
modest, and the GOC may see some public relations angle.
PARMLY