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NEWS
October 27, 2003.
State Security Prison. Holguín, Cuba.
Terror and torture suffered by women detained at State Security Prison
in Holguin, Cuba.
THE CUBAN FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS reports the agonizing conditions of terror and torture suffered
by women detained at this penitentiary, a unit of Cuban State Security
in the province of Holguin, Cuba.
Day and night, the screams of tormented women in panic and desperation
who cry for God's mercy fall upon the deaf ears of prison authorities.
They are confined to narrow cells with no sunlight called "drawers" that
have cement beds, a hole on the ground for their bodily needs, and are
infested with a multitude of rodents, roaches, and other insects.
These female prisoners lack all sort of necessary personal possessions
and almost always have no water, even for bathing, often drinking this
precious liquid full of insects. The food distributed to them is
terrible, smells rotten, and is stored in receptacles lacking in
hygiene. Even prison officials have complained of the small quantities
served.
In these "drawers" the women remain weeks and months. When they scream
in terror due to the darkness (blackouts are common) and the heat, they
are injected sedatives that keep them half-drugged.
They are supervised by men who personally administer the feminine
products they need and who so often open these "drawers" without
respecting their privacy.
One female prisoner cried out, "get me out!", "get me out, I'm
suffocating!", and an official called Marino replied: "stick your nose
out through a hole and shut up!"
If anyone in the penitentiary protests out loud, they are taken to
assigned punishment cells where they must abide by a ruthless
discipline.
Testimony provided by
Juan Carlos González Leiva
Blind lawyer in prison and President of the Cuban Foundation for Human
Rights
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Testimony provided via telephone from Cuba by Maritza Calderin, wife of
Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva
Address: Honorato del Castillo # 154, entre Republica y Cuba, Ciego de
Avila, Cuba. Tel: + 53-33-222235
Taped, transcribed and translated to English: Coalition of
Cuban-American Women/LAIDA CARRO
E-mail: Joseito76@aol.com
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