Guillermo Farinas has been on a hunger strike since January 31. The 41-year old independent journalist is starving himself to get something most folks in the world take for granted - free access to the Internet.
Where does he live that he cannot get Internet access - the totalitarian state of Cuba. fidel castro refuses to allow normal Cuban citizens access - he fears they will learn things that will threaten his dictatorship.
Farinas practiced psychology before becoming a journalist. He's caught up in fidel's latest roundup of independent, truth-seeking journalists that began when the world was watching the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In March 2003, fidel rounded up 75 independent journalists and imprisoned them. His thugs and goons have harassed journalists since.
The attacks on Farinas began after he sent an email from a Cuban Internet cafe that told about human rights abuses in the country. From Web Pro News:
''I got on my knees and said, `Down With Fidel!'" said Guillermo Farinas, a 41-year-old psychologist-turned-independent-(and anti-establishment)-journalist, as he reported the events of a government agent mob attack to The Miami Herald.
"They started kicking and beating me, bruising my back, arm and head. They stopped when they saw I would not lose my dignity and say things I didn't feel," he continued.
Last word had Farinas in poor health and receiving fluids by IV. Other dissidents are making international pleas on his behalf, and you should do your part, too. Write your Congressman or other representative and get in touch with the following folks.
Fidel Castro Ruz
President of the State Councils and Ministres
Palace of the Revolution
Havana-CUBA
Ing. Felipe Pérez Roque, Cuban Minister of the Exterior
E-mail cubaminrex@minrex.gov.cu
Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, President of the Cuban
National Assembly of the Popular Power
E-mail: anppci@cenial.inf.cu
Newspaper "Computacion" / Editora Abril - UJC -
compu@tinored.cu
Cuban Movement for the Peace - cupaz@tinored.cu
Attorney General of the Republic -fisgecu@tinored.cu
Granma Internacional / La Habana - granmai@tinored.cu
Cuban Association of the United Nations - acnu@ceniai.cu
Diocese of Cienfuegos/ Santa Clara - bishop@ceniai.cu
Press Information Center - cip@ceniai.cu
Cuban UNESCO-CNCU Commission - cncu@ceniai.cu
Medicaba - medicuba@ceniai.cu
Public Health Minister ( Office)- ofmin@ceniai.cu
Prensa Latina / S.A - prela@ceniai.cu
Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart - siva@ceniai.cu
INTERNATIONAL
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Web site: www.amnesty.org
Telephone: +44-20-74135500
Fax Number:+44-20-79561157
Address: 1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
European Parliament
Human Rights Unit
ATR 3K060
Rue Wiertz
B-1047 Brussels
XP-DROI@europarl.eu.int
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700, Fax: 1-(212) 736-1300;
hrwnyc@hrw.org
1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel:1-(202) 612-4321, Fax:1-(202) 612-4333;
hrwdc@hrw.org
2nd Floor, 2-12 Pentonville Road
London N1 9HF, UK
Tel: 44 20 7713 1995, Fax: 44 20 7713 1800;
hrwuk@hrw.org
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
ICRC Regional Delegation
2100 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 545
WASHINGTON D.C. 20037 / United States
E-mail: washington.was@icrc.org
ICRC Regional Delegation
Calderón de la Barca No. 210, Colonia
Polanco
Delegación Miguel Hidalgo, MEXICO C.P.11550 /
México
E-mail: email.mex@icrc.org
(covers México, Guatemala (bureau), Costa Rica,
Honduras, Nicaragua (centre ortho - FSH), Panamá,
El Salvador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haití(mission)
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
330 7TH AVENUE, 12TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10001
TELEPHONE: 212 465 1004
FAX 212 465 9568
americas@cpj.org
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Reporters sans frontières/ Reporters Without
Borders
5, rue Geoffroy-Marie
75009 Paris - France Tel. 33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax. 33 1 45 23 11 51 E-mail : rsf@rsf.org
Web : www.rsf.org
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL -
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Web site www.amnestyusa.org
Telephone +1 212 807 8400
Fax number +1 212 463 9193\1 212 627 1451
Address 5 Penn Plaza - 14th floor New YorkNY 10001
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
E-mail admin-us@aiusa.org
FIDH - Federación Internacional de Ligas de Derechos
Humanos
Tel. y fax: FIDH : + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / + 33 (0)
1 43 55 18 80 Tel. y fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 /
809 49 29 - E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch
Update - More from Marc at Uncommon Sense. And from The Real Cuba, and Charlie Bravo and Killcastro, and Texidor, and El Confeti, from Alfredo at Havana 50-60, and Cuban-American Pundits, and El Cafe Cubano, and Blog for Cuba, and Wall Street Cafe, and The 26th Parallel. The always passionate Babalublog writes about Farinas here. And Dean's World, Gall and Wormwood, Cagey Mind. Fausta's comments are here. J. Scott Barnard is here.
