Great news and a big shout out to Toby in Sheffield who did so much on this with the sample letters he wrote, the contact details of the ambasadors, including their home details in two cases and the chasing around at the social centre on Monday.

This shows that campaigns do work, we can make a difference. Now we need to keep up the pressure on behalf of the Cuban people and all those whose names are not as well known.

This has made me very happy today !

Cuba remains the only country in the Western Hemisphere to effectively outlaw peaceful advocacy for human rights and democratic reforms. Independent civil society in Cuba – including human rights defenders, democracy activists, and independent journalists and scholars – are the targets of constant persecution. The universally-recognized rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly are systematically violated by the State and victims have virtually no means of redress within the judicial system.

In a severe crackdown on independent civil society in Cuba, 75 peaceful human rights, democracy and political activists were arrested in the spring of 2003, summarily tried and sentenced to jail terms of up to 28 years. Although 20 of the original 75 have since been released, conditions for independent civil society activists have deteriorated significantly since July 2005, when an additional 15 activists were jailed. Meanwhile, a number of the activists that remain imprisoned since March 2003 suffer from worsening medical conditions which have been exacerbated – and in some cases triggered – by the harsh conditions of their incarceration.

Moreover, actos de repudio (“acts of repudiation”) are regularly carried out against peaceful human rights activists and their families by the Cuban government and its “Rapid Response Brigades” of civilian mobs. Activists have been the targets of harassment, mob intimidation, threats, insults and violence perpetrated against them and their family members.

The transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul on July 31, 2006, and the subsequent election of Raul Castro as President on February 24, 2008, have not produced any significant change in the human rights situation on the island. The Raul Castro government continues to hold human rights defenders in prison and violates the Cuban people’s rights of expression and association.

Supports the rights of Cubans to peacefully defend their basic rights and to form independent associations that seek human rights reforms. The Cuban government should support human rights defenders and end its persecution and imprisonment of those who peacefully express their beliefs and defend universally-recognized rights.

A translation of an excerpt from a statement issued Monday by Miriam Leiva, founding member of the Ladies in White group on Aug. 8, 2006

On Aug. 7, as on every Sunday since March 30, 2003, the Ladies in White attended church at the Santa Rita de Casia Church and walked down the middle of Fifth Avenue in Miramar, Havana. But this wasn't an ordinary Sunday. It was the Sunday after the provisional delegation of power by Fidel Castro to Raúl Castro and five other Cuban leaders.

This movement of the Cuban civil society does not have a political nature, ideological preferences or confessional exclusions. We do not challenge and we're not a party. We have neither a spokeswoman nor a hierarchy. We are the voices of the 75 innocent prisoners of conscience, imprisoned during the Black Spring of 2003, and our families. We have suffered much, but we harbor neither hatred nor resentment.

If anything has become evident this week, it's that the government of Cuba must open itself to its people and simultaneously to the world. The inner fear can be smelled, can be felt on the empty streets of Havana and in cities and towns all over the country. . . . The quiet and timorous commentaries do not match the noisy and fun-loving idiosyncrasy [of the Cuban people].

But the causes of this unreal calm make no one feel comfortable in the stillness and near absence of the habitual sounds. It's as if everyone had come to a halt, astonished. We have felt the surveillance, and sensed the repressive elements preparing to act at the slightest signal.

Cuba will never again be the same. The people deserve the right to express themselves without fear, to know what's happening, to contribute their opinions, to participate in the decisions, to really be the masters of their fate, to help our homeland to recover economically and join the international commonwealth.

One of the first steps has to be the release of the 75 prisoners of conscience, those people sentenced unjustly in March 2003 to terms of up to 28 years; the 60 who are in prison and the 12 who have been released on parole for reasons of health and remain in the country; as well as the release of the other peaceful prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, including those who have been awaiting charges and trials since July 2005.

We Ladies in White aspire to live in liberty and democracy. We miss the respect for our rights and the peace among us all. These have been very important issues for Cubans for centuries now, an importance that was evidenced in the outstanding role played by Cuba in the drafting of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, and many other examples.

We shall not give up in our efforts, and even though we are unprotected women, we are filled with immense tenacity and passion for our relatives, our people and our homeland. Not always will there be many of us; everyone knows the many difficulties that exist in our country and the repression against us all. But every Sunday, and whenever it's opportune, we shall be together and will surely redouble our efforts to participate. This seventh day of August, we walked with our traditional gladiolus in one hand and white lilies in the other, as signs of peace and love. We shall continue to struggle, because we are convinced that nothing is impossible if reason is on our side.

Great news but there are still other political prisoners in Cuban jails for example jailed Cuban activists Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Tony Diaz are dangerously ill and are not receiving vital medical treatment, according to their family members.

Dr. Garcia Paneque was healthy when arrested in 2003 but now suffers from malabsorption syndrome and has lost nearly half of his body weight. His health has deteriorated rapidly over the past several weeks. Tony Diaz has been diagnosed with a tumor in his prostate and ulcerative colitis in his colon. Despite repeated requests for medical attention, both men continue to be held untreated in prison.

Join us in urging Cuban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Tony Diaz and to provide them with the necessary medical treatment as long as they remain in detention.


We ask all those concerned about the state of Jose and Tony's health to consider writing to the president in Cuba, a smaple letter is below if you wish to use it.




Raul Castro Ruz
Presidente Interino de Cuba
c/o The Embassy of Cuba
167 High Holborn
London
W11 3TP
Tel 020 7240 2488
Fax 020 7379 4557


Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued detentions of Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Tony Diaz, peaceful activists who have been in prison since April 2003 and who are critically ill. Dr. Garcia Paneque has been held in "Las Mangas" prison in Bayamo since November 2005, and Mr. Diaz is currently held in the Canaleta provincial prison in Ciego de Avila.

Dr. Garcia Paneque has suffered from intestinal problems that have caused him to lose almost half of his body weight. He is malnourished and has developed intolerances for lactose and gluten that have not been addressed by the prison diet. His wife's request for his release on medical parole in November 2005 has not been answered, and his health has since further declined. In recent weeks, he has reported repeated incidents of dizziness and diarrhea and severe rectal bleeding.

Mr. Diaz exhibited signs of several serious health conditions, including a tumor in the prostate, ulcerative colitis in his colon, a kidney stone, and accelerated loss of vision, in an April 2007 medical checkup requested by his wife. Mr. Diaz has a family history of colon cancer, and these diagnoses were a cause for serious concern for his family members. A second checkup last week revealed that his prostate and colon problems have not improved, but the prison doctor was unable to provide any remedy because he did not have the resources.

Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque is a peaceful human rights activist and independent journalist who oversaw an independent library and medical association, activities which are protected by international law. Tony Diaz was one of the principal organizers of the Varela Project, a peaceful organization dedicated to political reform. The detention and excessive sentences of these two men are violations of their fundamental human rights. They are two of many non-violent prisoners held despite severe illnesses that are caused or exacerbated by harsh prison conditions.

The 1998 U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that governments should protect the rights of all individuals to freely share information about human rights and advance fundamental freedoms. Dr. Garcia Paneque and Mr. Diaz have been imprisoned for exercising these basic rights.

I urge the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Tony Diaz, as well as all others held for their nonviolent promotion of human rights and democracy and the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

While Dr. Garcia Paneque, Tony Diaz and others remain in detention, I ask the Cuban government to guarantee that the conditions of their detention conform to basic international standards as defined under the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the U.N. Body of Principles for the Protection of all Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. These documents elaborate the basic standards needed to protect the rights of detainees, including the provision that sick prisoners receive adequate medical treatment. A second opinion from a medical professional is provided for under these guidelines. Finally, these standards detail the rights of prisoners to regular correspondence and family visits.


Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

The comments to this post had some good info to them and added to the story, the post about the ladies in white was good stuff and a wonderfull example of women standing up to a totaliarian regime win a nonviolent way. Although maybe IMC editors only like to see posts where women do as they are told by men ?