U.S. Concerned with Health of Cuban Political Prisoners

U.S. Department of State

The United States is deeply concerned with the failing health and poor treatment of Cuba's political prisoners, in particular that of Raul Rivero and Oscar Espinosa, according to an August 11 statement by State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker.

Rivero and Espinosa are both journalists who were arrested as part of the Castro regime's crackdown against 75 dissidents in March 2003.

Reeker said that the Cuban government appears to be going out of its way to treat the political prisoners inhumanely and noted that the health of Rivero and Espinosa has worsened since their incarceration.
He called for the Cuban government to immediately release all political prisoners. ---

in Gitmo.

Earth calling Bush* regime: you have destroyed the US credibility when it comes to the treatment of prisoners!

prisoners the US is holding in Gitmo. I should have known better. The State Department isn't really interested in their wellbeing. I don't know what I was thinking.

I attribute my thinking this for even a fraction of a second as having one of my "senior moments".

This article is from Feb. - how many more have attempted suicide since then??

snippet:
There have been five suicide attempts in the past three weeks by prisoners at the US naval base in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, prompting Amnesty International to call for an investigation into conditions at the camp where al-Qaida suspects are held.
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Barbara Burfeind, said: "Medical and psychiatric teams are working to try to prevent further injury or attempts."

Officials have declined to say whether it was five separate inmates or cases of multiple attempts by one person. Including the 10 attempts in 2002, the new cases bring the total to 15 since the prison was built a year ago to detain men captured in the fight against terrorism.
more.......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,13743,1002828,00.html

nt

Please provide a statement from this thread that says anyone has Castro worship! Your accusations have no basis. Why do you try to twist topics instead of discussing the issue???

BTW - have you ever heard "don't throw stones if you live in a glass house?" That is what posters are saying here. Comprende???

it to ya but I'm afraid you wouldn't understand.

By the way I was one of last Americans to leave in 59 when Castro overthrew the corrupt regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista.

LESSONS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH:
THE CUBAN PRISON SYSTEM - REFLECTIVE OBSERVATIONS 2000
http://afrocubaweb.com/elijah.htm
<blockquote>
by Prof. Soffiyah Elijah
Clinical Instructor
Criminal Justice Institute
Harvard Law School

<i>Since the island nation of Cuba experienced its successful revolution in 1959 its prison system has been evolving. Despite accusations of harsh human rights abuses from its neighbors to the North, Cuba today maintains a prison system that is in many respects far more humane than Western propaganda would have the uninformed public believe.

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Although one might think that this must have been a minimum or medium security prison, there are no such institutional classifications. Prison institutions are not characterized by security level. Rather prisoners of varying security levels are all housed in the same facility. The four levels of security classification for prisoners are maximum, high, moderate and minimum. The distinction in their security classification is borne out in the frequency with which they are allowed family and conjugal visits, mail, phone privileges and furlough availability. All prisoners, regardless of security level, are afforded at least four family and conjugal visits a year. Prisoners with the lowest security classifications are afforded more frequent family and conjugal visits than higher security classified prisoners.

Needless to say I was a bit taken aback at this very different approach. For the next thirteen years I built on this experience and conducted further research on the Cuban prison system.


-

Prisoners or their families may request conditional liberty passes. These are similar to furloughs and are granted to allow the prisoner to tend to his or a family member s health. The furlough time is counted as part of the sentence.

Prisoners are not obligated to work. Work is considered a right of the prisoner so that he can earn an income. Prisoners are allowed to work in the same sort of employment as they held prior to their incarceration if it is available at the facility where they are being held. They are compensated for their labor at the same wage that free workers are compensated. They are not charged room and board no matter how much they earn. Similarly, they do not have to pay for their education, medical, dental or hospital care or any other activities they experience. Social security benefits and pensions are available to all prison laborers. In the event of a prisoner s death, his family will receive his pension. A portion of the prisoner s earnings is sent to his family. Even if a prisoner does not work, his family will be cared for by the State.

Once a prisoner has served at least half of his sentence he can request a conditional release if he is a first offender. A positive conduct record is the primary factor considered in granting the request for relief. The request for conditional release is made to the sentencing tribunal. The district attorney is given an opportunity to be heard with respect to the request. All prisoners are released after serving two thirds of their sentences.

In 1997 the availability of alternatives to incarceration was expanded to cover all defendants sentenced to up to five years incarceration. Previously these alternatives were only available to defendants sentenced to up to three years. The expansion of the availability of alternatives to incarceration to all defendants facing up to five years  incarceration covered almost 95% of Cuba©?s prisoners. The recidivism rate for those prisoners released pursuant to the use of alternatives to incarceration is less than 15%. These alternatives include a form of probation, conditional release (similar to parole) and suspended sentences.

The conditional release program is very interesting. The defendant lives for twelve days in a residence located near a farm or industrial center. He works at the farm or industrial center during these twelve days. Then he has three days off where he can leave the residence and go home to his family. On the fourth day, the defendant returns to the work site and the residence. The defendant works side by side with non-incarcerated workers who are not informed of his status. He is paid the same wage as his co-workers and is afforded the same benefits and privileges. He works the same shifts and wears civilian clothing. Work alternatives can be revoked if the defendant fails to adhere to the rules and conditions of the program. The sentencing tribunal is informed if the defendant fails to meet the conditions and it can decide to return the defendant to prison.

The goal of the Cuban prison system is to return people to the community as productive contributors as soon as possible. Therefore the focus is not on punishment, but rather on rehabilitation and re-education. Perhaps this goal would be a useful addition to the prison system that has evolved in the United States.
</blockquote></i>