Regime repression: Authorities deny medical care to a 70-year-old political prisoner in Block 11J

The regime’s repressive authorities denied necessary medical care to 11J Carlos Manuel Pupo Rodríguez, a political prisonerThe coordinator of the Party of the Union for a Free Cuba (PUNCLI) fell last week while carrying a case of water to the prison bathroom. Your Facebook profile Legal Advisory Group Cubalex.

The organization explained that “the fall caused severe blows to his head and to his leg, which had previously undergone surgery. Not getting adequate medical care or medication to treat his diabetes and high blood pressure“.

Dol RodriguezThe 70-year-old remains imprisoned in a camp called “Angola” in San Antonio de los Baños, south of Havana, according to Cubalex members. His health further deteriorated. “This puts their health and physical well-being at serious risk,” they insisted.

Sentenced to six years in prison for participating in the protests held in San Antonio de los Baños on July 11-12, 2021, Pupo Rodríguez is one of Cuba’s oldest political prisoners and, therefore, one of the most vulnerable. Although he was initially held at Kilo 5 and 1⁄2 prison in Pinar del Río province, he was later transferred to Kilo 8 prison, one of the worst prisons in Cuba.

“Pupo had been kept in a punishment cell that was very damp, had holes in the floor through which rats could get in, and there was a lot of pit stench,” A few months ago he commented on DIARIO DE CUBA Activist José Elias González Aguero. Since then, the situation has only worsened, and demands for a change in their situation have Pupo Rodríguez has repeatedly Hunger strike, This caused his health to deteriorate, requiring an intravenous drip more than once.

While in prison, Pupo Rodríguez, in addition to leading the Cuba Free Party, was also a promoter of the Emilia Project led by opposition doctor Óscar Elias Bisset.

In July, as part of the 190th Ordinary Session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), several Cuban activists participated in a public hearing on “Human Rights Violations in the Context of Institutional Violence in Cuba.” There, the legal advisory group Cubalex presented Concerns of Cuban civil society On the “Health and Integrity of All Persons Deprived of Their Liberty in Cubaespecially 9/11 protesters, who face prison sentences of more than 20 years in some cases.”

“The patterns found by Cubalex (denial of medical care, suicide, excessive use of force, hunger strikes, and workplace accidents in prisons) reflect Deep Deficiencies in the custody and detention system In Cubawhich demonstrates the urgent need for reforms to improve detention conditions, ensure access to adequate medical care, and guarantee the protection and safety of all those detained by the state, especially those in extremely vulnerable situations,” said Giselle Morfeu, a lawyer with the group.

According to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba added 160 new political prisoners in the 12 months between August 1 and July 31 last year, an average of more than 13 new political prisoners per month. The Madrid-based NGO noted that during this period, “they appeared on the list There are 1,193 political prisoners” The organization stressed that they were all tortured.