Two in prison complain of medical neglect

Two in prison complain of medical neglect

HAVANA and CIEGO DE ÁVILA, Cuba. October 18 (Abel Escobar Ramírez and
Roberto Santana Rodríguez/www.cubanet.org) - Two imprisoned independent
journalists complain prison authorities have ignored their need for
medical attention, putting their health in danger.

Yarai Reyes, the wife of Normando Hernández, 36, said he has high blood
pressure, and suffers from fainting spells and digestive tract disorders
that have led to low bodily weight.

Reyes said that more than a week ago, a physician ordered an
electrocardiogram and blood tests, and that only the blood work has been
done.

Hernández was sentenced to 25 years in 2003 and is confined at the
Kilometer 7 prison in Camagüey.

At the 1580 prison in the outskirts of Havana, journalist Oscar Mario
González, 62, is also not receiving the medical care he requires,
according to his wife Mirta Wong.

González, said Wong, has a urinary tract infection that has proved
resistant to antibiotics. At the beginning of October, a urologist
prescribed tests that have not been carried out for lack of supplies and
because the X-ray equipment in the prison hospital is out of order.

González was arrested July 2005 and has not been brought to trial. He
worked with the Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, an independent journalists' agency.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y06/oct06/23e8.htm