Cuba: Lack of Medical care to ill political prisoner

Derechos Human Rights


        Concern over the health of political prisoner
     
CUBA             Eduardo Gomez Sanchez


According to reports we have received, Eduardo Gomez Sanchez, a political
prisoner, suffers from a serious liver condition, apparently diagnosed as
malignant.  He is held at the Kilo 8 prison, in the province of Camaguey,
in an isolated punishment cell and does not receive the medical attention
he needs, although his condition has forced the authorities to place him
for short periods of time at the Amalia Simoni hospital in Camaguey. 

Eduardo Gomez Sanchez was arrested in May of 1994 as he attempted to leave
the country aboard a vessel from Guantanamo Bay. In a trial which began on
December 9, 1994, (case 27 of 1994) in the Santiago the Cuba Court for
Offenses against State Security, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison
for the crime of illegal emigration from the national territory and
piracy.  No evidence was produced at his trial showing that he had used
force or committed some violent act in his attempt to take the vessel to
the United States (which is what the Cuban law defines as piracy).

In October 1994, he received a visa granting him entry into the United
States, but his request for an appeal before the Cuban Supreme Court was
denied and he was confined in Section 2 of Detachment 8 of Boniato jail,
Santiago de Cuba, to serve his sentence.  On August 26, 1995, after
participating in a hunger strike to protest the bad condition of the
inmates, he was transferred with other prisoners to the Kilo 8 maximum
security prison, known for its extreme rigors and abominable living
conditions, and held in isolation.  This was done arbitrarily and without
notifying relatives. 


RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:  Send telegrams, telexes, faxes, express or air mail
letters in Spanish or in your native language: 

- expressing concern regarding reports that the state of
health of Eduardo Gomez Sanchez is quite delicate;

- requesting that he be immediately granted the medical
attention he needs;

- requesting that he be set free given the lack of
evidence that he utilized force or committed some act of
violence in his attempt to leave the country;

 - urging assurances for the full respect of human
rights and fundamental freedoms within the country in
accordance to international standards and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. 


APPEALS TO: 

S.E. Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz
Presidente del Consejo de la Revolucion
Palacio de la Revolucion
La  Habana
Cuba
Fax : (+ 53 7) 51 11 22 or 51 14 64 or 512950 (via
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores)

Dr. Carlos Amat Fores
Ministro de Justicia
Ministerio de Justicia
Calle  216, 8 piso e/23 y Humboldt
Vedado
La Habana
Cuba.
Telex : 511 331. Fax : (+ 53 7) 51 11 22 
o 51 14 64 or 51 29 50 
(via Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores)

Sr. Roberto Robaina Gonzales
Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
Calzada N 360
Vedado
La Habana
Cuba
Fax : (+ 53 7) 51 11 22 or 51 14 64 or 51 29 50

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.