HAVANA, Cuba.- “My two children They are in danger, the fault lies with those who imprisoned them unjustly because here thinking differently is not allowed,” denounced Martha Perdomo Benítez, mother of political prisoners Jorge and Nadir Martín Perdomo.
Through a live broadcast on your Facebook profilePerdomo Benítez explained that Jorge had had a fever since Wednesday of last week; he managed to visit him in the Ho Chi Minh forced labor camp, Mayabeque province, and confirmed that his son had acute bronchitis.
According to the mother, as a political prisoner, her son has refused to do forced labour and is therefore locked up for seven hours a day in an old, almost abandoned amphitheatre with no basic conditions, where he remains, along with 100 other prisoners, without seeing the light of day.
“The roof is constantly leaking sewage water. They cannot sit on the floor because it is wet from the same water. Apart from that, there is only one bathroom with no door and full of dirt from days and months because it is not cleaned and there is not even privacy,” explained Martha Perdomo.
Due to these conditions, Jorge Martin Perdomo has developed acute bronchitis and has had a high fever for several days. He has lost about 10 pounds in less than two weeks and can barely eat due to severe nausea. The doctor saw him the day before the family visit and at his insistence.
The mother also said that the prison authorities did not allow her to leave him food so that he could eat later.
“I cannot understand that because a person refuses to work they keep him in these conditions. This is torture because he is in prison but not sentenced to death, and he is imprisoned unjustly (…), my two sons are innocent,” she said.
Regarding his other son, Nadir Martín Perdomo, he said that he is also in a delicate health situation. In addition to his chronic stomach problems, his liver is inflamed and he can hardly eat due to the strong nausea, which is why he has lost a lot of weight as well.
“Nadir does not retain his vitamins in his body and the endoscopy that was performed on him showed that he had an inflamed liver. His illness is not compatible with the prison regime,” said his mother.
Martha Perdomo said that she has asked the prison authorities on several occasions for her son Nadir’s extra-penal license, but they have refused.
Greisy Oliva, Nadir’s wife, explained which requires a lot of care and proper nutrition “as if he were a little child”: six meals a day, daily medication and boiled water even to brush his teeth.
Brothers Jorge and Nadir Martín Perdomo were arrested on July 17, 2021 after participating in the historic anti-government protests of 11J in San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque province. In January 2022, they were sentenced to eight and six years in prison, respectively, for the alleged crimes of “attack,” “contempt,” and “public disorder.”
For her mother, the Cuban regime is responsible for her life and for the deterioration of her health.
“They locked up her body and they are going to kill her body – God willing they won’t, I hope nothing happens to my children – but not her spirit, her spirit is freer than that of each one of us Cubans, who have to keep quiet in line, who have to keep quiet or speak quietly wherever we go because they can put you in jail. (…) But I am not going to remain silent in the face of so much injustice and seeing the lives of my children in danger,” she said.
