Freed dissidents expose Castro's brutal regime

[hack89]

Source: Telegraph

Four dissidents freed this week after five years in inhumane conditions in a Cuban prison have revealed the dark side of Fidel Castro’s regime.

The four - José Gabriel Ramón Castillo, Omar Pernet Hernández, Alejandro González and Pedro Pablo Álvarez - described regular beatings, humiliation and arbitrary punishment with long periods of solitary confinement in cramped cells with cement beds.

Freed dissidents expose Castro's brutal regime
Omar Pernet Hernández had his collar bone broken

They said they were deprived of food and water in conditions which resembled "a desert".

Arriving in Spain to be reunited with their families, they exposed the routine abuse of political prisoners which marked Castro’s five decades in power

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/23/wcuba223.xml

[lligrd]

1. They Weren't Even Waterboarded

and they call that torture? :sarcasm:

[papau]

17. that was my first thought also

[TomInTib]

2. Meanwhile, at Gitmo.... nt

[acmavm]

3. EXACTLY!

[nebula]

4. Would they prefer to be in Gitmo?

it can be arranged.

[ohio2007]

8. Maybe the Gitmo inmates would be willing to trade places?

I wonder if the food in Cuban jails is halal

[bemildred]

5. Sounds a little bit like Abu Ghraib.

These guys should have thrown in some kinky stuff though.

[ohio2007]

6. Amnesty International called the release of the four a "positive step" but called on Raul Castro,...

who has been Cuba’s acting president since his brother, Fidel, fell ill in 2006, to also release all other political prisoners held by the regime.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/23/wcuba223.xml


hmmmm

So this is what Raul does as soon as Fidel retires ? What's he up to ?
/sarc

[pop goes the weasel]

7. no doubt they were mistreated

However, mistreatment of political prisoners has never stopped the US from having "friendly" relations with brutal regimes. So, this is beside the point as to what our country's policy should be. I think Castro would have lost power long ago if we were openly trading with Cuba. We're the ones who have made it so hard for Cubans to escape by limiting travel by Cubans. We're the ones who have restricted the flow of outside information into Cuba by limiting travel by non-Cubans to Cuba. We're the ones who need to "tear down that wall." Why everyone else in the world is supposed to be benefited by trade and cultural exchange with the US except for the Cubans is a reason of pure domestic politics and has nothing to do with good foreign policy.

[lligrd]

9. I Find It Ironic That Many Cubans Complain About Castro's

tactics but support *.

[AlphaCentauri]

20. many support the death penalty but not in latin america n/t

[Mr Rabble]

10. But they were released? Does that make sense?

IT might be a good idea to consider that this might not exactly be the truth...

[idovoodoo]

11. Not to defend Castro but not sure how this treatment was any worse than what we

do to people in U.S. prisions (and don't a lot of people complain about those ?) =>

"He said he was kept in solitary confinement in a cell measuring four metres square with a cement bed."

4 meters square is about 13 x 13 feet, considerably larger than a typical cell in a U.S. Federal prison.

And doesn't the fact they were released demonstrate some accommodation (they were incarcerated only 4 years ago???...it's not like they've been in the pokey ever since Castro came on the scene after Batista...)

[Xipe Totec]

12. What is it about Cuba,

that makes people so mean?

I mean, look at Gitmo. :shrug:

[EFerrari]

26. Cuba must be punished for not giving herself up to America. n/t

[bemildred]

30. Exactly. The disobedient must be punished as an example to the rest.

Otherwise all these little countries would be doing just whatever they want, and then where would we be?

[StClone]

13. Two wrongs

The U.S. can't point a finger at any other country with it's own pattern of rendition, high Iraq civilian death count and abuse of prisoners innocent and otherwise. Cuba's wrongs, which are smaller in scope, don't make the U.S. inhumane actions justifiable.

[robcon]

14. This is a promising development for Raul Castro.

Perhaps Raul will reduce, or even eliminate, Fidel's gulag of political prisoners.

Freedom of press? Freedom of speech? Freedom of small businesses to exist (Varela Project?) There are a lot of reforms that are needed to remove the stench of Fidel's police state.

[High Plains]

41. 58 prisoners makes a gulag?

Then what does that make the USA? Maybe you should work on removing the stench of the US police state first.

Edited to include current US prisoner count: 2,300,000. About one million non-violent offenders, about half a million in on drug charges. Now, talk to me about gulags.


http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/good-news/cuba-releases-imprisoned-activists-20080218

Cuba releases imprisoned activists
18 February 2008

The Cuban authorities released four activists from prison over the weekend. The four were arrested in a political crackdown in March 2003, which imprisoned 75 dissidents.

Omar Pernet Hernandez, 62, Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, 59, José Gabriel Ramon Castillo, 50, and independent journalist Alejandro Gonzalez Raga, 48, were released.

Fifty-eight people recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience remain in prison. Amnesty International welcomed the releases, but, in a statement, urged Raul Castro to urgently release the 58 and to guarantee the right to freedom of expression on the island.

"The release of the four Cuban prisoners of conscience is a very positive step but we must not forget about the at least 58 people who remain held in prisons across Cuba for the sole reason of expressing their political views," said Kerrie Howard, Deputy Director at Amnesty International's Americas Programme.

"We hope that the recent release is a sign of change in Cuba, a further openness to improving respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of expression and association."

[robcon]

49. I don't know where you got the 58 prisoners number.

Have you forgotten the mass executions of political prisoners during the Castro regime? Or do you just WANT to forget about them?

[davidinalameda]

15. I cannot honestly believe the Castro supporters in this thread

I'm surprised that they haven't condemned these guys for being arrested in the first place

just one question-has the Bushies arrested people in this country for speaking out against them?

comparing them to the prisoners in Gitmo is not even close to comparing apples and oranges

[DumpDavisHogg]

16. Yes, the Bushies have arrested dissidents

Wasn't there a guy a few years ago? All I remember is the guy's first name was Sherman. This was maybe around the time Bush first seized power.

Also, around 2006, there was a 53-year-old woman near Cleveland who was sent to a psychiatric hospital for disagreeing with Bush.

So Bush does have political prisoners. And his daddy did too.

[davidinalameda]

18. did a quick check

the woman in Cleveland was arrested by the LOCAL police for assaulting an officer

she was breaking the law by putting up posters

as for Mr. Sherman, no clue

but this is hardly on the level of Castro

how many people have DIED at because of him and his regime?

how many people have suffered and lost everything they had, including their families, because of Castro

I just hope that Raul isn't more of the same

[barb162]

21. THANK YOU!!

Nice to have some facts around here sometimes :)

[Mika]

32. Then you might be interested in these facts..

LESSONS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH
http://afrocubaweb.com/elijah.htm

Scroll down to..

THE CUBAN PRISON SYSTEM - REFLECTIVE OBSERVATIONSÓ 2000

by Prof. Soffiyah Elijah
Clinical Instructor
Criminal Justice Institute
Harvard Law School

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.

My study of the Cuban prison system began in 1987 when I first visited the country to attend a conference co-sponsored by the American Association of Jurists and the Cuban Association of Jurists. I was pleasantly surprised during the trip when the opportunity arose to visit a men's prison. A group of conference attendees traveled by bus to the prison and when we arrived we were not searched and our belongings were not checked. We did not sign in or out. Nobody asked to check our identification. Having visited numerous prisons in the U.S. I have never entered any of them without a thorough search of my person and my belongings. Government issued photo identification is always required.

Although we were given a tour of the prison we were free to wander off and talk with the prisoners unmonitored. We walked all around the facility and were allowed to go into cells, work areas, the cafeteria, hospital, classrooms, recreation area and any other space we chose. This we were allowed to do unaccompanied. The prisoners wore street clothing.

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.

In 1988 I returned to Cuba to attend the International Women¹s Conference hosted by the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC). Another opportunity arose to visit a prison, this time it was a women’s facility. My impressions were very similar to those I had when I visited the men’s facility. In a nutshell, the Cuban system still impressed me as being more humane than what I had observed in the United States.

Prisoners in Cuba are incarcerated in the province in which they live. A province is the geographic equivalent to a county as we know it in the United States. This is done to facilitate regular contact between prisoners and their families. This contact is seen as an integral part of the prisoner¹s rehabilitation. Families are incorporated through joint counseling into the rehabilitation process. Each prison is staffed with professionals who are trained to assist the family and the prisoner plan for his or her re-entry into the community. The focus is on rehabilitation as opposed to retribution and punishment.

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 Cuba¹s 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.

Personal permission granted to me by author to post here.

-

[ohio2007]

35. LOL, yeah..most of the times fact get in the way of a good headline

;)

[AlphaCentauri]

24. I believe those dissidents were not accused of speaking against Castro

you may have some details of the charges against them.

[ohio2007]

36. Go back and read the original thread link

They only spoke out against Castro. Maybe the MSM in Spain will get these 'spies' in a press conference and waterboard them into speaking the real truth for you? the truth you want to read that is

[AlphaCentauri]

40. Other have been speaking against Castro but won't get in jail

Just wondering why this dissidents speak freely in Cuba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_vg9L-u72I&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFCEhsrVEwE&feature=related

[struggle4progress]

53. Castillo seems to have been convicted of collaborating with US government against Cuba's interests

... SENTENCIA NUMERO UNO DEL DOS MIL TRES ...

... PRIMER RESULTANDO: Probado, que et acusado JOSE GABRIEL RAMON CASTILLO, conocido por "Pepín", desde mil novecientos noventa y uno se encuentra vinculado a grupúsculos contrarrevolucionarios, y hasta el momento de ser detenido por los hechos que se juzgan en esta Causa, realizó numerosas actividades con el propósito de apoyar las pretensiones políticas del Gobierno norteamericano y la mafia anticubana radicada en ese país, dirigidas a subvertir el orden interno de la nación y destruir su sistema políltico, económico y social, contando el inculpado, para Ilevar a cabo aquellas acciones, con el apoyo moral, material y financiero que sistemáticamente recibió de las organizaciones contrarrevolucionarias con sede en el exterior, entre las que se encuentran las denominadas "Fundación Nacional Cubano -Americana", "Centro de Estudio para

una Opción Nacional", "Fundación Cuba no -Canadiense" Y "Fundación Hispano Cubana", así como la Sección de Intereses de Ios Estados Unidos en Cuba.

Con igual propósito el acusado visitó regularmente la mencionada Sección, manteniendo relaciones personales y pro vía telefónica con funcionarios de esa oficina deplomática, a quienes trasladaba informes, verbales o escritos, donde formulaba denuncias calumniosas con el fin de tergiversar y denigrar la realidad del sistema polótico establecido en Cuba, solicitando, como mercenario al servicio de la potencia extranjera, apoyo económico y material para persistir en su intención de destruir la Revolución Cubana y su particular obra humanitaria, pudiéndose contabilizar la recepción de treinta y un giros enviados desde los Estados Unidos a través de Western Unión, por partidas mensuales entre cien y trescientos dólares, sumando un total superior a los siete mil dólares, recibidos en su mayoría durante el año dos mil dos. En fecha veintiséis de Junio del dos mil dos recibió la cantidad de doscientos dólares enviados por Rafael Artigas, Director del denominado "Centro de Estudios para una Opción Nacional, organización pantalla de la "Fundación Nacional Cubano -Americana" con notoria participación en actividades terroristas contra Cuba; se comprobó además, los envíos monetarios al acusado por los funcionarios del referido "Centro de Estudios para una Opción Nacional", radicados en Ios Estados Unidos, entre ellos de Humberto Bustamante, quien envió en fecha treinta y uno de Agosto del dos mil dos la cantidad de trescientos dólares; Josefina Ana Sullivan en fecha quince de Marzo del dos mil Ie mandó cien dólares y María Janisset Rivero el tres de Octubre del dos mil dos Ie giró trescientos dólares; esta última funge también como cabecilla de la organización contrarrevolucionaria "Directorio Democrático Cubano", la que recibe financiamiento del Gobierno Norteamericano en su afán de derrocar a la Revolución. EI dinero recibido por el acusado fue utilizado para satisfacer las necesidades personales, suyas y de la familia, como asalariado de quienes Ie pagaban, a la vez que empleó parte del mismo en financiar los centros de estudios contrarrevolucionarios creados por él, incluyendo el pago a los cursistas y a los responsables de los locales donde estaban ubicados, pago a los premiados en los concursos y a los integrantes del jurado, utilizando dinero también en la compra de los medios empleados para propagandizar los materiales subversivos creados y los recibidos de otros elementos, organizaciones u oficinas que aspiran a la desaparición de Cuba como nación libre e independiente . EI inculpado, autotitulado "periodista independiente" creó lo que denominó "Fuero", folletos que contenían artículos y comentarios escritos y editados por él y otros colaboradores, dirigidos a cuestionar la política interna en todas las esferas de la vida social, económica y política, potenciando con ello la lucha contra el orden interno, apoyado por una potencia extranjera para buscar un cambio brusco y total en la sociedad cubana, conforme a sus intereses mercenarios y aspiraciones personales; esas informaciones también eran enviadas hacia el exterior del país.

Con idéntica determinación el acusado JOSE GABRIEL RAMON CASTILLO recibió, procedente de la Sección de Intereses de los Estados Unidos in Cuba, gran cantidad de libros, revistas, artículos, folletos y otras publicaciones así como numerosos cassettes de video y de audio, que eran entregados de forma directa en su domicilio, cuyo contenido es eminentemente subversivo y contrarrevolucionario siendo documentos elaborados en le extranjero, principalmente en los Estados Unldos que retoman las ideas, corriéntes y tendencias que históricamente han defendido los sectores más reaccionario de la emigración cubana en Miami, agrupados en posiciones revisionistas, existencialistas, pro -imperialistas, neoliberales y anexionistas; de ahí que resumen viejas posiciones de la Ilamada "cubanología", en especial la idea de la Revolución traicionada y la del papel determinante de las agresiones imperialistas en el tránsito al Socialismo en Cuba; como tendencia general, el material ocupado al acusado revela la coincidencia en repetir las más burdas mentiras sobre la historia de la Revolución Cubana, por lo que sus autores y los que creen en ellos, como el acusado, ponen en serio peligro la seguridad nacional de la Isla al divulgarlos en el país, poniéndose de manifiesto que tanto uno como los otros están claramente al servicio de la potencia extranjera que históricamente se ha mostrado como adversaria, asumiendo posiciones hostiles a la nacionalidad y la nación cubana. Consciente del contenido y propósitos de los materiales recibidos, así como de los fines perseguidos por quienes se los suministran, el procesado creó Centros para su estudio y desarrollaba concursos, talleres y conferencias con la intención de divulgarlos, poniéndose de manifiesto, una vel más su complicidad con las intenciones de la mafia anticubana y el gobierno norteamericano en subvertir el orden interno, realizar provocaciones y contribuir a la creación de ambientes de conflictos de desobediencia civil. Obviamente el procesado no actuaba solo en la tarea de recibir y divulgar los referidos materiales, sino que contaba con el apoyo de colaboradores y miembros de la organización contrarrevolucionaria que presidía, obteniendo todos beneficios personales por el servicio prestado a los enemigos de la Patria.

Desde el año mil novecientos noventa y nueve hasta el mes de Febrero del dos mil tres el acusado JOSE GABRIEL RAMON CASTILLO envió numerosas informaciones a la emisora mal Ilamada "Radio Martí", creada y financiada por el gobierno norteamericano y al servicio de los enemigos de Cuba, en las que sobredimensionaba las dificultades propias de un país sometido a un bloqueo general durante más de cuarenta años, relacionadas con la alimentación, el agua, la vivienda y el comportamiento de los contrarrevolucionarios en Santiago de Cuba; igualmente denigra a las instituciones estatales, las organizaciones de masas y sociales, así como a sus dirigentes; fueron remitidas dichas informaciones también a la Revista "CUBANET", editada especialmente en Miami para contribuir en el propósito de subvertir el orden en nuestro país. En registro efectuado al domicilio donde reside JOSE GABRIEL RAMON CASTILLO se ocuparon equipos electrónicos que utilizaba para trasmitir, recepcionar y difundir sus ideas subversivas, entre ellos un Monitor marca ACER, una fuente de computadora marca ESTANDAR COMPUTER, un video cassette marca PANASONIC, un televisor marca ATEC -PANDA, una impresora EPSON, un fax marca PANASONIC un teléfono celular marca NOKIA y una computadora personal marca DELL-LATITUDE, y otros bienes; también fueron ocupados varios CD, cassette de video, numerosas publicaciones (Iibros, folletos y revistas ), así como seseta y dos dólares procedentes del financiamiento recibido para sus actividades; se Ie ocupó la vivienda de residencia sita en Bacardí Número Cinco entre Crombet y Hatuey, Reparto San Pedrito de Santiago de Cuba, en la que desplegaba sus acciones contrarrevolucionarias, y otros bienes y objetos, todos relacionados con los hechos que se juzgan, y que se encuentran en depósito ...

http://www.ruleoflawandcuba.fsu.edu/documents-santiago-1s.cfm

[High Plains]

42. How many people have LIVED because of Castro and his regime?

A balanced assessment of the Cuban Revolution would ask both questions.

How many people didn't starve to death or die of malnutrition or preventable disease because of the Castro regime?

How man people got an education they otherwise wouldn't have?

How would Cuba and Cubans have fared under 50 years of Batista's rule?

The Cuban government deserves to be criticized for some of its practices, but I'd wager that the US government has killed more people in any given year this decade than the Cuban government has all total since the Revolution.

[AlphaCentauri]

45. and How many kids sleep on the streets? n/t

[SpikeTss]

46. Kids sleep on the street because of a stupid and murderous embargo

Unfortunately Bush doesn't have to fear punishment for keeping the embargo, just like Bill Clinton wasn't punished for the murderous embargo against the Iraqi people, which killed more than 1 million.

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0702-03.htm

[AlphaCentauri]

48. Actually there are no homeless children in Cuba

Sheryl L. Lutjens
In a world where structural dynamics and state neglect have contributed to a growth in poverty, homelessness, and violence by—and against—youth, the absence of street children in Havana has distinguished postrevolutionary Cuba. 1 The streets of Cuba’s two-million-plus capital reflect the priorities and policies of the 1959 revolution, as well as the socialist commitments formalized in the early 1960s. More specifically, transformation in the economy and the pursuit of social justice created a context in which the care and education of all children became a constitutional responsibility of the state, mass organizations, and individuals. Yet the economic crisis of the 1990s, labeled the Special Period in Peacetime, has threatened the educational system and the egalitarian commitments of Cuban socialism. How have children been affected by crisis and the reforms that are adjusting Cuba to the new global order of the 1990s?

This chapter uses education to explore the distinctive role of the Cuban state with regard to children. It begins with an overview of change after 1959, presenting indicators of child welfare and well-being that reflect structural reforms and the crucial place of educational policies in Cuba’s state-directed project of social transformation. The economic crisis associated with the collapse of socialist trade and the strengthening of the U.S. embargo, as well as Cuban responses, are then explained by exploring the consequences of the Special Period for children and their education. Cuban reforms have prioritized international tourism, and with success (more than 1 million visitors in 1997) has come an increasing number of children who implore visitors for pens, money, candy, or gum. Yet “there are no niños de la calle ,” said one official of the Federation of Cuban Women (Federación de Mujeres Cubanas—FMC) in 1995; the children who ask for gum, she noted, have schools, a place to live, medical care, and food (Berges 1995). 2 Conclusions about these—and other—children in Cuba must be placed in the context of state policies, schooling, and the “clean streets” that have characterized postrevolutionary society.


http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102775763
Page 55 http://www.questia.com/reader/action/gotoDocId/102775819

[EFerrari]

27. Don Siegelman. n/t

[boppers]

58. Sherman Austin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Austin has details.

[AlphaCentauri]

19. consider the people who has die overseas

can't see anything worse than killing people in other countries presumably anti americans.

[Zhade]

23. What supporters? Why must you lie to try to make a point?

Show their support. Go ahead.

[Zhade]

22. I KNEW it would be a conservative source before I opened this thread.

Figures. You can't be sure they aren't making it up whole cloth.

[davidinalameda]

25. don't take this the wrong way

but you need a reality check

Castro is a dictator; he has been a dictator since pretty much day one

his government has jailed thousands of his own people over the decades

his government has killed thousands of his own people over the decades

his government is responsible for thousands more having to flee Cuba over the decades

but I'm sure some would say that it's their fault

blame the victims!

[struggle4progress]

54. Don't take this the wrong way -- but The Telegraph ain't the place to get a straight story

It's just a print version of Fox News

I have no objection to anyone criticizing Castro but I do like accuracy -- and The Telegraph spins like a top

[SpikeTss]

28. There is a big mistake in this implausible article

The assaults described in this article are being conducted by the SS guards in the concentration camp called "Guantano Bay".

Unfortunately the Cuban government can't do anything about these grave breaches of human rights ordered by the extreme fascists in Washington, DC.



Unfortunately, people seem to be learning too slow about what is going on behind the scenes in Washington.
Just have a look at this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjALf12PAWc

[Trajan]

29. Frankly: it doesnt matter what other regimes do or dont do ...

If prisoners are abused, they are abused ... There is no rationale in seeking comparisons in order to justify their poor treatment ...

Each act of inhumanity, by anyone, is a separate act .... One act of inhumane treatment cannot justify another .... They are ALL wrong ...

[Mika]

31. I agree.

Every country in the world has dark prisons. Abusive guards. Raging police.. etc.

Agreed. They are all wrong.


-

[otherlander]

60. Exactly.

I think another person said something along those lines once. Something about being filled with indignation at every injustice... I guess it must not have been anyone important, though.

[AlphaCentauri]

62. very well said

[ohio2007]

33. Authorities Arrest Dissident

Another CIA plot exposed



Authorities Arrest Dissident


Syrian dissident Riad Seif, who has led efforts to organise the opposition against the Baathist government, was arrested on Monday, his lawyer said. "Five plain-clothed security officers came to Mr Seif's house at 7 p.m. (1700GMT) and took him away. They identified themselves as members of the State Security intelligence division," Mohanad al-Hassani told Reuters. Hassani expected Seif to face charges related to organising a meeting of opposition figures at his house in December.

There was no comment from the Syrian authorities.

Ten dissidents who attended the meeting were arrested last month and charged on Monday with undermining the state.



Seif, who has already spent five years in jail as a political prisoner, has prostate cancer. He pressed his criticism of the authorities over its human rights record after his release in 2006.

The authorities have refused to allow Seif to travel abroad for treatment, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union.



Seif, who has already spent five years in jail as a political prisoner, has prostate cancer. He pressed his criticism of the authorities over its human rights record after his release in 2006.

The authorities have refused to allow Seif to travel abroad for treatment, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union.

http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=118539

He should be sent to Cuba for treatment. Cuba has a fine prostrate cancer treatment program...well... er...
maybe thats actually Spain ?

[AlphaCentauri]

44. or the UK

[Mika]

34. Another dissident arrested.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sentenced-to-death-afghan-who-dared-to-read-about-womens-rights-775972.html

A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.

[ohio2007]

37. when did they execute him ?

maybe they will take him to the Isle of Youth as opposed to a Gitmo execution ?

[durutti]

38. Ah, the Telegraph

Reliable source, that.

[hack89]

39. Of course ...

they don't support your world view so of course they are unreliable.

[struggle4progress]

55. "When the four men were arrested in 2003 they were charged with conspiring with the United States"

Four released after human rights talks
Friday, February 22-28, 2008
http://www.costablanca-news.com/news/spain.htm

[hack89]

57. Well no shit

do you think the charges would read "we locked them up because we refuse to accept any opposition?".

Every American in prison was charged with a real crime by a legitimate government - I guess that makes the US prison system OK then.

[struggle4progress]

59. Citing a tabloid like The Telegraph doesn't lend any credibility to your claims

It's true, of course, that Spain does not regard Castillo et al as general threats, hence offered as part of an ongoing initiative to accept them if Cuba would release them, which Cuba agreed to do: I have no cause to fault Spain's judgment of the matter. But the fact, that Spain so judged the cases, does not really cast any light on whether the charges were true

If you want to argue that Castillo wasn't working with/for the US, you need to address the evidence claimed to support the accusation, including a number of supposed meetings with American handlers in Cuba, connexions to Radio Marti, and possession of propaganda materials of US origin. Since the US has been engaged in such activities for some years now, and has a long history of working with disaffected Cubans, it is credible to me that (from time to time) there are some people who do this sort of thing, so perhaps the accusations against Castillo are not far-fetched

If it is difficult to decide what an appropriate Cuban response would be, one can nevertheless perform the following little thought experiment: imagine reaction in the US to news someone had cooperated with a foreign government X that had a long-standing objective of overthrowing the US government and in furtherance of that policy had an effective strategy for damaging the US economy. A little reflection should convince you: the fact, that person regularly met with representatives of government X and had possession of materials designed to further the objectives of government X, would be considered rather damning. Here in the US, the current regime threatened Susan Lindauer with a stiff prison term for much more benign activity than that (although psychiatric issues eventually precluded a trial)

[hack89]

63. I would take your ideas seriously

If you could should where serious opposition to Castro and the Communist party is allowed. Show me the political party that had has its stated goal to replace Castro. Show me the political party that wants free enterprise. Show me the opposition news papers, radio stations etc - you know - all the trappings of a free society that one expects to see.

40 year leaders are either kings or dictators - history does not allow any other choices.

[struggle4progress]

64. That really does not address the issue I raised: it would be entirely possible

(for example) to believe simultaneously that Cuban society ought to be more open, to think that Castillo engaged in activities which would widely have been regarded as criminal, and to think that Castillo posed no general threat to (say) Spain

[AlphaCentauri]

61. check post #40

[killbotfactory]

43. We can only hope, one day, that Cuba's prisons will be as well run as ours

http://hrw.org/doc/?t=usa_prisons

And have an incarceration rate as small as ours:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0818/p02s01-usju.html

We can dream.

[bemildred]

50. Hey, we're number 1.

Other dictaters can only stand in awe of our accomplishments.

[sendero]

47. Every time I want a fair, balanced and accurate..

... story, I go to a freed prisoner dissident! You can trust a dissident!

[olddad56]

51. We have county jails in this country that are no better.

[MikeSOM]

52. Isn't incarceration supposed to be punishment?

If it's too comfortable people would rather stay and be taken care of.

[YankmeCrankme]

65. There is a difference between punishment and abuse

Frankly, the lack of freedom was supposed to be the primary punishment and maybe some physical labor to boot, not experiencing abuse or degradation which is what our penal system seems to be about.

[ileus]

56. who'd ah thought that?....