USA responsible for health of Cuban anti-terrorist
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Ricardo Alarcon, President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba, held the United States responsible for the health of anti-terrorist Gerardo Hernandez, unjustly held in a US prison and suffering from physical problems.
Gerardo's health is in danger and the United States is responsible for this situation, warned Alarcon at Havana's Convention Center, where parliamentary permanent committees are currently meeting prior to the fifth period of sessions of the seventh legislature of the Cuban Parliament.
Alarcon added that justice is being obstructed in the case of Gerardo, as he has been put in solitary confinement in the prison of Victorville, California, without having committed any indiscipline.
In Alarcon's opinion, this is a very serious situation because the prisoner not only is in the hole, but under conditions of punishment in a very small cell, with no ventilation except for a tiny hole in the upper part of the wall of the cell shared with another inmate.
"The US Government is aware that Gerardo has some physical ailments for which he has been requesting medical examination since April," commented Alarcon, who noted that only on July 20th was he allowed to see a doctor.
The next day he was taken to the hole, a two-meter long, one-meter wide cell, where temperatures reach over 35 degrees, despite the fact that he had been diagnosed with several still untreated problems.
Gerardo seems to be having problems with a bacteria that, according to the doctor who saw him, was circulating among the prison population, with some very serious cases, though it is not known if this is his specific situation because he has not had any tests.
Gerardo also appears to be having problems with his blood pressure. He is a young man, just 45, but he has been under very difficult, tense conditions for 12 years now, he recalled.
Alarcon expressed his concern for the health of the Cuban anti-terrorist fighter, above all because he has no medical care.
"We have protested to the US State Department and have had no reply. Not only is he in that hole, but under conditions of punishment," recalled Alarcon.
He warned that Gerardo is without communication with his lawyers, at the very time that appeal procedures are being carried out, a situation that has been constantly repeated throughout the entire process.
"Gerardo should be working with his lawyers with evidence to back up the habeas corpus. This is known by the US Government and still at this moment he is without contact with his lawyers, without corresponsence, completely isolated, and on top of that he is ill, involving risks for his physical integrity, stated Alarcon.
