Dissidents in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba reported Monday that jailed activist Frank Montero, who has been on a hunger strike for more than 30 days, was rushed to a hospital over the weekend.
Authorities have refused to inform Montero’s relatives about his health or whereabouts after he was removed from the Aguadores prison on Saturday, said Rolando González, like Montero a member of the opposition Cuban Patriotic Union.
Montero went on a hunger strike 36 days ago to protest his arrest on Feb. 19, along with his twin brother Daniel, on charges of trying to leave Cuba without the required permits ailing, González said. The brothers claimed they were going fishing.
Daniel Montero, who was also being held in Agujadores, told relatives Sunday by telephone that his brother had been rushed to a hospital. The brothers, who are 29 years old, are from the city of Santiago de Cuba.
Havana human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said he first heard of Montero’s hunger strike about 19 days ago.
The deaths of political prisoners Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Wilman Villar Mendoza amid lengthy hunger strikes — Zapata in 2010 and Villar early this year — sparked broad condemnations of Cuba’s human rights record.
Read the rest of the story for more examples of recent repression in Cuba.
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