Pray for Oscar Biscet

Join Christian Solidarity Worldwide in praying for Cuban political prisoner Oscar Biscet.

CSW recently sent out an e-mail to British supporters — but Americans and others can pray, too — that reads:

We are writing to request your urgent prayer and action on behalf of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, whose wife, Elsa, has recently sent out an urgent appeal for solidarity.

According to the appeal, published last week, Dr. Biscet is in extremely bad health, with continued and severe dental problems, high blood pressure, pain in his joints. He reports that he is progressively losing his eyesight. His family has requested that he be moved to a “less severe prison system” but has yet to receive a response from Cuban officials.

Elsa has appealed to “all those who value life’s dignity so that my husband is able to receive medical treatment, is removed from the harsh prison conditions he is being subjected to and is immediately and unconditionally released.”

Dr. Biscet is currently being held in the Combinado del Este Maximum Security Prison in Havana in a room with no light or ventilation, high humidity, and without a mattress or a chair. He has complained of excessive noise, a lack of privacy, and the restrictions on family contact (family visits are allowed every three months for two hours). However, in a letter he managed to smuggle to his wife in February, he says, “In spite of the difficult situation, I am not frightened nor will I go back a step in regards to my ideas. I am here by my own free will to condemn and not to retract myself and will serve this unjust sentence until God in the Highest puts an end to it.”

You may recall that Dr. Biscet is serving a 25 year sentence for his human rights activity. He was arrested in December 2002, following only a month of freedom after serving a three-year sentence, and given a summary trial in April 2003 in a massive crackdown on human rights and democracy activists.

We would ask you to please pray for Dr. Biscet and his wife Elsa, and to take the time to write to your (member of Parliament) and (member of European Parliament) to express your concern, asking them to raise this with the Cuban government. You can find details on your MEP by visiting www.europarl.europa.eu, clicking on the “Your MEP’s” tab, and then clicking on your country, followed by the region. You might also consider writing directly to the Cuban embassy to express your concern (address below) and to Elsa to encourage both her and her husband.

HE Rene Mujica Cantelar
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba
167 High Holburn
London WC1V 6BA

Elsa Morejon Hernandez
Acosta 464 e/ 8va y 9va, Lawton ,
Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

Thank you for your continued prayers and actions on behalf of Dr. Biscet. We know they are enormously encouraging to him and his family.

God bless,
CSW Advocacy Team

(H/T Marta.)