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NEWS
Civil Rights Leader
Calls for the Freedom of Afro-Cuban Political Prisoners and Democracy
Activists at New York Demonstration
NEW YORK (July 22, 2008) -- Today,
prominent civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton led a demonstration to
protest the Castro regime's ongoing human rights violations. The
demonstration was held outside the Cuban Mission to the United Nations
in New York.
Rev. Sharpton highlighted the tragic plight of Afro-Cuban political
prisoners and democratic opposition leaders, in particular -- Dr. Oscar
Elias Biscet and Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antunez."
Antunez's sister Berta and several former Cuba n political prisoners -
Ignacio Cuesta Valle, Luis González Infante, Rodolfo Rodríguez San Román
y Félix Cifuentes, each who have spent terms between ten and twenty-nine
years - stood alongside Rev. Sharpton as he shared the stories of their
suffering. Rev. Sharpton spoke to “Antunez” personally yesterday evening
from Cuba and he received a first hand account of the continued
harassment he encounters daily in Cuba.
Rev. Sharpton also highlighted the case of Dr. Biscet who is currently
detained in the infamous Combinado del Este prison, sentenced to 25
years for speaking out against the Castro regime. Conditions in the
gulag are abysmal, and Biscet is regularly subjected to torture and
extended stays in vermin-infested solitary confinement cells.
Biscet's wife, Elsa Morejon, sent a letter from Cuba thanking Rev.
Sharpton for bringing attention to her husband's plight, and describing
the conditions of his cruel and unjust incarceration.
Antunez was recently released from prison after serving a 17-year
sentence for expressing his opposition to the Castro dictatorship. He
has been harassed and beaten repeatedly by Cuban government agents since
his release. Despite the persistent harassment, he continues to organize
acts of civil disobedience in Cuba.
"We applaud Rev. Sharpton for bringing attention to the unjust
incarceration of Cuba's many political prisoners. The Castro regime
should take notice that the world will not stand for its systematic and
violent oppression of Cuban citizens," said Peter Mirijanian,
spokesperson for the Cuba Solidarity Movement.
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Press contact:
Robby Schrum
robby@solidaridadcuba.org
+1 866-295-3079.
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.
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