The heroes

[Carsten Wiethoff]

Hmmm, don't want to take sides here, but a small lookup reveals that Orlando Zapata Tamayo was classified to be a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in June 2003.

From http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/...004en.html

In June 2003 Amnesty International declared 75 new prisoners of conscience after they were detained in a massive government crackdown on dissent which began on 18 March 2003. Most of the detainees were subjected to hasty and unfair trials, and, just weeks after their arrest, were given long prison terms of up to 28 years. Having reviewed the trial verdicts and other documents of most of the 75 dissidents sentenced, Amnesty International declared that they were prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms. Amensty International’s detailed report on the crackdown also mentioned eight other possible prisoners of conscience, Rafael Ernesto Avila Pérez, Javier García Pérez, Félix Jaime González Martínez, Rolando Jimenez Posada, Rafael Millet Leyva, Miguel Sigler Amaya, Pablo Solís Cubilla and Orlando Zapata Tamayo1. The organization has been following these cases closely and has now declared four of them to be prisoners of conscience (Rolando Jimenez Posada, Rafael Millet Leyva, Miguel Sigler Amaya andOrlando Zapata Tamayo). The other four were reportedly released (Rafael Ernesto Avila Pérez, Javier García Pérez, Félix Jaime González Martínez and Pablo Solís Cubilla).

Orlando Zapata Tamayo

Date of arrest: 20 March 2003

Sentence: No trial yet, but charged with “desacato”, “desordenes publicos”, “public disorder”, and “desobediencia”.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo is a member of the Movimiento Alternativa Republicana, Alternative Republican Movement, and a member of the Consejo Nacional de Resistencia Cívica, National Civic Resistance Committee.

He has been arrested several times in the past. For example he was temporarily detained on 3 July 2002 and 28 October 2002. In November 2002 after taking part in a workshop on human rights in the central Havana park, José Martí, he and eight other government opponents were reportedly arrested and later released. He was also arrested on 6 December 2002 along with Oscar Elías Biscet3, but was released on 8 March 2003.

Most recently, he was arrested on the morning of 20 March 2003 whilst taking part in a hunger strike at the Fundación Jesús Yánez Pelletier, Jesús Yánez Pelletier Foundation, in Havana, to demand the release of Oscar Biscet and other political prisoners. He was reportedly taken to the Villa Marista State Security Headquarters. He has not been tried yet, but the prosecutor is reportedly asking for three years’ imprisonment for “desacato”, “desordenes publicos”, “public disorder”, and “desobediencia”.

He has reportedly been moved around several prisons, including Quivicán Prison, Guanajay Prison, and most recently, Combinado del Este Prison in Havana. According to reports, on 20 October 2003 he was dragged along the floor of Combinado del Este Prison by prison officials after requesting medical attention, leaving his back full of lacerations.

I am aware that this is not the same as a "political prisoner", but it is also not a "common criminal".