The guards refuse to take the infected to the infirmary. However, when they manage to be driven away, the doctors assure that “there are no medications at all.”
HAVANA, Cuba. – A fever epidemic is ravaging the prison population of the El Pitirre prison in Havana, as reported by telephone this Wednesday by the 11J protester Nilo Abrahantes Santiago from that most rigorous penitentiary center located in the capital’s municipality of San Miguel del Padrón.
As specified by the political prisoner, a large number of inmates remain in bed suffering from one or several viruses that cause high fever, in addition to other symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, decay and general malaise.
The protester pointed out that the guards refuse to take the infected to the infirmary. However, when they manage to be led away, the doctors explain to them that “there are no medications at all”, that they drink “plenty of water”, or that they send for the necessary medicines with their families.
Abrahantes Santiago also reported that on October 11, the political prisoner Adrian Curuneaux Stivens He asked a guard for medical assistance, and the soldier’s response was to handcuff his hands behind his back and raise his arms above his head, so that “he almost broke them,” and in this way he “dragged” him to the infirmary.
According to Abrahantes Santiago, the repressor in question is a keychain nicknamed “El Duque.” However, he said, “that’s how everyone is, from those in charge in the prison to the key holders.”
Furthermore, the 11J protester referred to the terrible conditions of captivity, such as the mattresses infested with bedbugs, “which do not allow sleep.” He also revealed that in some cases the mattresses are barely one meter long, so the entire body cannot fit on them.
Another worrying situation, the political prisoner highlighted, is that they are only allowed to sunbathe once a month, or at most, twice. “Anyway,” he concluded, “the prison looks like a concentration camp.”
The 11J protester Nilo Abrahantes Santiago, a 45-year-old self-employed pastry chef from the Bejucal municipality, in the Mayabeque province, is serving a five-year prison sentence for the alleged crime of “sabotage.”
