“The Castro regime’s inhumane treatment of political prisoners has resulted in the death of an innocent man and our deepest condolences go out to Reina Tamayo Danger, Orlando’s mother,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor. “Mr. Zapata Tamayo’s death is an example of the systemic abuse suffered by those who espouse freedom and human rights in Cuba today and must be condemned immediately by the international community.”
Zapata Tamayo’s death is the first time in almost four decades that a Cuban political prisoner has died by hunger strike. Pedro Luis Boitel, a youth leader and poet, died in 1972 while protesting government repression. Raul Castro repeated the Cuban government’s claim that torture does not exist in Cuba and blamed the United States for the political prisoner’s death without elaborating further. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Novak, after requesting to visit Cuba for several years was finally issued an invitation in January 2009. The visit, which was to have taken place in the fall of 2009, has never materialized. Since Zapata Tamayo’s death, the Cuban government has detained more than 20 activists seeking to express solidarity with his mother, Reina.
For more information on Cuba, visit:
Freedom in the World 2009: Cuba
Freedom of the Press 2009: Cuba