Miami Herald: FREE OSCAR ELIAS BISCET FROM CUBAN TORTURE

Published Wednesday, August 23, 2000, in the Miami Herald

FREE OSCAR ELIAS BISCET FROM CUBAN TORTURE

In the United States, Oscar Elías Biscet might be a pro-life activist. A medical doctor, he opposes abortion and the death penalty. In Cuba that makes him a political prisoner. That also makes him a torture victim, particularly after a recent 42 days in solitary confinement.

Mr. Biscet has been jailed since November, sentenced to a three-year term on charges of ``disrespecting patriotic symbols'' for hanging a Cuban flag upside down during a news conference.

Amnesty International considers Mr. Biscet, who heads the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, a prisoner of conscience. Fidel Castro called him a ``crazy little man,'' perhaps thinking that any Cuban must be crazy to speak out against the repressive state. Perhaps Castro, who doesn't have a conscience, can't conceive of anybody acting on one.

Mr. Biscet's wife, Elsa Morejón was shocked when she visited him recently. In those 42 days alone in the dark, he lost 20 pounds and several teeth to an untreated mouth infection. His inhuman imprisonment and outrageous treatment demand an international outcry for his release.