…it’s the status quo:
Wife says imprisoned husband fears for his life
CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, July 3 (Luis Esteban Espinosa, Jóvenes sin Censura / www.cubanet.org) – The wife of political prisoner José Luis García Paneque, oneof the 75 dissidents arrested in 2002, says her husband is in danger of being killed by common criminals.
Yamilé Llanes, a lawyer, told the Cuban Human Rights Foundation that her husband fears falling asleep because that’s when he might be attacked by common prisoners acting on behalf of State Security. She said he has been attacked and beaten many times by such prisoners.
Lannes said her husband enjoyed good health when he first imprisoned by has since lost 80 pounds.
García Paneque is serving a 24-year sentence at Las Mangas Prison in Granmaprovince.
Political prisoner seeks shelter in solitary confinement cell
CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, July 3 (Luis Esteban Espinosa, Jóvenes sin Censura /www.cubanet.org) – Political prisoner Virgilio Mantilla Arango says he hasaccepted solitary confinement because of threats from common criminals.
Mantilla Arango told the Cuban Human Rights Foundation he has been in solitary confinement since putting on a T-sheet last month that carried the words, “Down with Fidel.” He said he wore the T-shirt to protest treatment in the prison.
Mantilla Arango, 35, was imprisoned in 2002 for protesting the treatment given an independent journalist.
Since he’s been imprisoned, he said he has been punched and threatened with a knife.