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Political Prisoner of the Week - Hector Palacios Ruiz One of the Group of 75 Charge: Arrested during the government's crackdown of March 2003 (Group of 75) Sentence: 25 years in prison. Prison: Combinado del Este, Habana Organization: Partido Solidaridad Democratica (Democratic Solidarity Party) Family: Gisela Delgado Sablon (wife) Address: Calle 25 #866 Apto. 3. Vedado. Ciudad Habana Review: Hector Palacios was born in the mountainous region of the Escambray. At the time of the Mariel boat lift (1980) he began to have differences with the Cuban government. He has been detained several times and has been in prison twice. He holds a degree in social sciences , but has not forgotten his rural origin. The Organizacion de Derechos Humanos Escambray (Human Rights Organization of the Escambray) elected him president. Hector Palacios has been a member of the Todos Unidos (All United) and founded the Centro de Estudios Sociales (Center for Social Studies) Human Rights First issued an alert on Palacios' condition back in March. The organization says he is suffering from severe heart problems and is not responding to medical treatment. Then there's this: Currently serving a 25 year sentence, Hector Palacios has advocated for human rights reforms in Cuba since 1980, and is an independent librarian. Independent librarians in Cuba provide access to books that are banned by the authorities. These include literature written by authors such as George Orwell, Václav Havel, and Dr. Martin Luther King, who have penned many books considered to be among the classics of anti-totalitarian literature. Where is the American Library Association on this one? We know where the Polish Library Association stands. As far as medical treatment for Palacios, we've seen the condition of hospitals in Cuba. Now fidel is raising the pay for doctors - by about a dollar a week. Too bad so many of them have been sent as spies to Venezuela. |
Hector Palacios Ruiz