CubaNet has updates on the conditions endured by two of the independent journalists imprisoned in Fidel Castro's gulag. Their stories offer glimpses of the cruelty and injustice of the regime, which does every thing it can to suppress their messages. Their courage, especially in prison, makes them and the more than 300 other journalists, librarians, human rights activists and other dissidents in Cuban jails heroes.
José Izquierdo— Doctors told journalist José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández , 40, that he is suffering from a stomach and intestinal ailment aggravated by his poor prison diet.
Izquierdo, who also worked as a librarian, was arrested March 18, 2003, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. While in jail, he has frequently complained of poor conditions and abuse by guards. At one point, he refused to participate in a "re-education" program imposed on political prisoners, according to Reporters Without Borders.
To read the complete update about Izquierdo's health from CubaNet, in Spanish, go here.
Héctor Maseda— Journalist Héctor Maseda's contact with his family is likely to be cut off after prison guards said he would be required to disclose beforehand the names and telephone numbers of people he wants to contact during the 25 minutes he receives each week to make calls. Calling it "unjust" and "degrading," Maseda said he will not submit to the rule.
Maseda, 63, a former nuclear engineer, was arrested the night of March 18-19, 2003, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. His wife, Laura Pollan, is the head of the "Women in White movement of wives and close relatives of detained dissidents, according to Reporters Without Borders.
To read the complete update from CubaNet, in Spanish, go here.
For more, about imprisoned independent Cuba journalists, go to Payolibre, CubaNet or Reporters Without Borders.
For more on Uncommon Sense's March 18 Project, read here.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
Reporters Without Borders has an ongoing petition drive asking Castro to release independent journalists in prison. You can sign the petition here. (A technical note: Reporters Without Borders is based in Paris, so the confirmation e-mail you will receive after signing the petition will be in French. Just in case you don't read French, the confirmation e-mail asks you click on the link to complete the petition signature process. Castro won't receive your message until you click on the link.)
For more on the Cuban dissidents, including a chance to "adopt a dissident," see the Cuban American National Foundation's Web site.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do is find and read the work of independent journalists still on the island. A place to find their articles, in Spanish, English and French, is CubaNet.
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