I am Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, an independent journalist, sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment.
I would like to make known to the world that this past March 20th the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience decided to commemorate the date of March 20th, the 105th anniversary of the creation of the Republic of Cuba. We began with a speech addressed to the inmate population. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, from the Christian Liberation Movement, spoke first outlining the importance of the date and how the government has tried to erase the milestone which the date represents. I then spoke from my cell block. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia spoke from his cell number 5, and I spoke from my cell number 3. I made a call for non cooperation, to not suppress one another, and to not collaborate with the Castro regime. It was at this point that people started chanting pro-democratic slogans, such as “Down with the terror of imprisonment, down with terrorism, down with imprisonment.” Additionally, they asked for the respect of human rights, adequate medical attention, and a series of demands that were not appreciated by the Political Police and the prison authorities.
It was at this point that certain actions took place. They stood in front of my cell block but did not come inside. On may 21, they conducted a meticulous requisition on Jose Daniel Ferrer Acosta, prisoner of conscience, and confiscated personal letters, writings, and even a mediocre book called “The Dissidents,” it was truly a ferocious repression.
On the 21st, pamphlets against the regime, against all of the violations that are committed here, of all of the cruelty that goes on here, were all spread throughout the prison. When they decided to empty Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia’s cell, he opted to walk himself to the punishment cell. State Security gave orders to harass and beat prisoners. In addition to State Security, the main director of the prison, Filiberto Martínez Luis, and the Chief Re-education Officer Eider Rodríguez Columbié, as well as Romni Alvarez Alcolea, Chief of Internal Order, participated in the attacks.
In order to commemorate May 20th, in remembrance of such a sacred date and also remembering the 22nd anniversary of the creation of Radio Marti, which we would like to extend our regards, both from Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and myself for the great labor that the radio station is doing. Among those who participated in the activity were Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, Nelson Vázquez Lima, Carlos Luis Díaz Fernández, Lamberto Hernández Planas, Eduardo Gamboa Suárez, Germán Bermúdez Carmona, Ramón Corrales Echarte, and Francisco Turnidor Valido.
I would like to add that this, May 21st, is when the repression began, where people were beaten, and authorities went to take people out of their cellblocks and empty them out, beating them savagely. Among those in poor conditions is Francisco Turnidor Valido, a common prisoner, who at the hands of several officials, among them the Chief of Internal Order, Romni Alvarez Alcolea,beat him mercilessly. At this moment, he is at the medical ward of the prison where he is in very poor conditions. He has dislocated his septum and has injuries throughout his body, due to the kicking and other forces exerted on him.
At this time, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia finds himself in a punishment cell without any resources, without water, surrounded by plagues of mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rodents of all types.
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