Miguel Valdes TamayoCuban dissident Miguel Valdes Tamayo, one of the "Group of 75," died Wednesday night from a heart attack, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Valdes was 50.
The AP reported Mr. Valdes had been in intensive care at a Havana hospital since Dec. 31.
(The AP report lists "Manuel" as Mr. Valdes' first name, but all other sources identify him as "Miguel.")
Mr. Valdes, president of the Fraternal Brothers for Dignity (Hermanos Fraternales por la Dignidad) and a member of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba (Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil en Cuba), was arrested during the "black spring" crackdown of March-April 2003, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He had been charged with violating article 91 of the penal code for "acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the state."
Almost 15 months later, on June 9, 2004, Mr. Valdes was released because of poor health.
On parole, Mr. Valdes resumed his activism, which earned him regular harrassment from the Cuban police and its civilian collaborators. On Oct. 27, 2006, according to Amnesty International, Valdes was assaulted by a Castroite street mob.
According to Miguel Valdés Tamayo, they tried to stop him leaving his house. When he attempted to leave the house, members of the crowd hit him in the head, chest and back. The crowd was largely made up of women, who are allegedly part of the Rapid Response Brigades (Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida), an unarmed group of volunteers whose task it is to deter crime and to confront any sign of discontent or opposition to the government.
Marta Beatriz Roque, president of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba and also a former political prisoner on parole, said Mr. Valdes had been waiting for government permission to leave Cuba. Of the 16 members of the Group of 75 released on parole, two have been allowed to emigrate — poet Raúl Rivero and independent journalist Manuel Vazquez Portal.
"He hoped to be able to go," Roque told AP, adding that Valdes Tamayo "was a very loved man" among Cuban dissidents.
For more on Mr. Valdes, read Payo Libre.
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