Letter from A Daughter of a Political Dissident In Cuba

by AlvarezGalloso | June 30, 2009 at 10:46 am

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This was an E Mail that the underwriter received from a family member of a political prisoner in Cuba. It is surreal that Castro and all of the other politicians talk about Honduras when there is almost no democracy in their world.

It is with this in mind that I decided to share this letter exclusively with Now Public.

"Hello, my name is Yenysel Díaz Sánchez, daughter of Antonio Díaz

Sánchez (Tony), a prisoner of conscience in Cuba. My father was

imprisoned during the repressive wave known as the Black Spring of

Cuba during March 2003.

He is one of the original coordinators of the

Liberation Christian Movement (Movimiento Cristiano Liberación). Tony,

Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Regis Iglesias Ramírez were the individuals

responsible for submitting to the Cuban National Assembly the

signatures collected as part of the Varela project.

This act of courage, which took place in May 2002, gave the Cuban people a glimmer

of hope that a peaceful transition to democracy would be possible on

the island. As a reward, the Cuban government condemned Tony to 20

years in prison in a facility located more than 700 km from his home.

Eight months ago, Tony was transferred to the Carlos J. Finlay

Military Hospital (located in the city of Havana and less than a mile

from his house) for treatment of a case of ulcerative colitis

contracted as a consequence of the precarious conditions of his

confinement. In the last few months, Cuban State Security officials

informed my father that, should he agree to wear the uniform of a

common criminal, he’d be transferred to a nearby prison with better

living conditions. As my father was unwilling to submit to this

blackmail, he was punished by being sent instead to Canaleta prison in

Ciego de Ávila prison (500 km from his home).

The most worrisome aspect of this situation are the deplorable

conditions of Tony’s confinement. He has been placed in a humid

punishment cell with the dimensions of a cage and with a hole for his

basic bodily functions. He has a slab for a bed and doesn’t get enough

light. Tony has no communication with the outside world and is subject

to what can be described best as a concentration camp

diet–notwithstanding the strict diet prescribed by the doctors. The

inhumane nature of Tony’s imprisonment is the source of his

deteriorating health and chronic pain and discomfort. It is both

physical and psychological torture, inflicted on an individual for

attempting to defend his human dignity under the most disadvantageous

of circumstances. It has been 25 days since my father was transferred

to Canaleta and his family has received no news of his current status.

The Cuban government has canceled all family visits. We have no idea

whether he is dead or alive. I ask all persons of good faith, on my

behalf of my ten-year sister Lázara Massiel Díaz Sánchez, to prevent

the death of our father in a Cuban dungeon at the hands of persons

incapable of respecting the rights of a man that has dedicated his

life to the defense of the human rights of an entire nation. Thank you

for your consideration.