Jailed Cuban Journalist Vows to Renew Hunger Strike, Stitch Mouth Shut
By Cuban Democratic Directorate
Statements made by Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta from Holguín Provincial Prison in Cuba.
Miami. August 6, 2008. Cuban Democratic Directorate. Cuban political prisoner Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta stated that he was forced to end a twelve day hunger strike on July 31 when military and prison authorities subdued him by force and undid the stitches holding his mouth shut to underscore his commitment to the strike. In his first statements since the strike's forced end, Herrera Acosta stated that he will take up the hunger strike anew "no matter the cost" and called for an international campaign for the freedom of Cuban political prisoners.
"I am letting the world know that I will not desist in my efforts to continue demanding respect for my trampled-upon rights, and that I will have recourse to the same method no matter the final outcome. If I lose my life, the Cuban regime, and its blood-stained, repressive political police will be responsible. I will not stand by patiently or in a cowardly manner as the ever-ready torturers attempt to subjugate me through coercion and blackmail. I am keeping and will continue to keep my banner high. I will stand up firmly in the face of terror. The military officials employed many psychological techniques in an effort to make me abandon the position I had taken, but in the end that effort was in vain," stated Herrera Acosta.
The statement was given during a telephone call from Holguín Provincial Prison to Havana-based activist Juan Carlos González Leiva from the Cuban Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs on August 5. Herrera Acosta went on to describe the authorities' violent intervention to end his protest, as well as the unconditional support he received from fellow political prisoners Alfredo Rodolfo Domínguez Batista, Orlando Zapata Tamayo y Luis Mariano Delís Utria who joined him on hunger strike starting July 19.
Herrera Acosta's moral conviction and his precarious state of health rallied the support of activists from several parts of Cuba, as well as of international human rights organizations and freedom of expression advocates last week.
"We are here to support our brother Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta and the other three brothers who have joined this hunger strike demanding respect for their rights. It does not matter to us here whether they repress us, or whether they beat us. What matters to us is the situation of our brothers on strike, especially Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta," stated former political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" who took part in a sit-in at the prison with over 20 other activists on July 31 to demand a clear response to Herrera Acosta's demands. While that group of activists suffered violent repression, another group of activists from the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy took up the sit-in anew on August 1, but did not manage to learn any new information on the hunger strikers.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists launched an international News Alert on July 31 in which its Americas senior program coordinator Carlos Lauría stated that: "Cuban authorities must immediately release Herrera Acosta and the other 21 journalists who should never have been imprisoned in the first place."
Reporters Without Borders also stated its concern for the unjustly imprisoned independent journalist on August 1: "Herrera's current state of health is grounds for suspending his sentence on humanitarian grounds. It is vital that he should receive medical treatment as soon as possible. We urge the Cuban authorities to show some consideration towards this prisoner, who is in danger of dying. We point out that a total of 23 journalists are imprisoned in Cuba, 20 of whom were, like Herrera, arrested during the 'Black Spring' of 2003."
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asesinos los castros y toda su pandilla cobardes le temen a la verdad , recuerden los guardia y su policia politica na da es eterno y toda se cobra.
abajo los castro y su camarilla
idaruiz91 1 year ago 2
Cobardes miserables, el dia de el juicio final se acerca para los esbirros castristas.
Laverdadduele1 2 years ago 2
El Poder de Uno. The Power of One
capecodful 2 years ago
SON UNOS ABUSADORES LOS TIRANOS CASTROS!!!
Hechan 20-25 o 30 años como si no fuera nada a gente que no han hecho nada malo, solo pedir un poco de respeto. Batista debió de haberlo preso para que no hiciera tanto daño que ha hecho. LIBERTAD A TODOS LOS PRESOS POLITICOS EN CUBA!!
PerlitaHabanera 2 years ago
¡LIBERTAD para todos los Prisioneros de Conciencia y Defensores de los derechos Humanos en Cuba‼ ∙¡Basta YA de tanto ABUSO
Esbirros..... Criminales .....Cobardes.....Verdugos....‼ Algún día tendrán que dar cuentas ante la JUSTICIA‼
¡Viva Cuba LIBRE del Castro-Fascismo‼ ¡LIBERTAD y DEMOCRACIA YAAAAA‼
iluminadita100 2 years ago