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US GOVERNMENTS REPORTS |
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02 June 2003
Text: Health of
Imprisoned Cuban Dissidents Concerns U.S.
(State Dept. calls for release of 75 political prisoners) (420)
The United States is concerned about the health of several political
prisoners in Cuba, according to a June 2 statement issued by State
Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker.
Reeker said that several of the 75 Cuban dissidents arrested and sentenced
to long jail terms in March 2003 are ill and require immediate access to
adequate health care. He called on the Cuban government to immediately
release all 75 of the political prisoners or, at a minimum, provide them
with the necessary health care, cease the inhumane treatment of these
prisoners and allow humanitarian organizations to monitor their treatment.
Following is the text of Reeker's statement:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
June 2, 2003
STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN
U.S. Concern about the Health of Oscar Espinosa Chepe and Other Political
Prisoners
The United States is deeply concerned over the Cuban government's treatment
of Cuban political prisoner Oscar Espinosa Chepe. According to his wife and
other family members, Mr. Chepe may die if he is not transferred immediately
from prison hospital to a better facility in Havana. This Cuban political
prisoner is suffering from liver disease, edema, gastrointestinal bleeding,
and other symptoms indicating a serious medical condition. The United States
demands that the Cuban government provide Mr. Chepe with adequate health
care and transfer him to a hospital where he can receive the level of care
commensurate with his illness.
Mr. Chepe is a 62-year old independent journalist, and is one of 75
independent activists, journalists, and librarians arrested and sentenced to
long jail terms in March 2003. He was arrested and sentenced to prison for
28 years on trumped up treason charges. His only real crime was to call for
peaceful change in Cuba. Mr. Chepe and all 75 of these political prisoners
should be released immediately.
The United States is also concerned by reports that political prisoners Raul
Rivero, Martha Beatriz Roque, Jorge Olivera, and Roberto de Miranda are also
ill. All should be given immediate access to adequate health care. Many of
the 75 prisoners are being held in inhumane conditions, with very poor
sanitation, contaminated water, and nearly inedible food. The Cuban
government appears to be going out of its way to treat these prisoners
inhumanely. It should immediately cease this practice and, at the minimum,
allow the appropriate humanitarian organizations to monitor the treatment of
its political prisoners.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) |
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