Leading jailed dissident not seriously ill - Cuba / Reuters /TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TT>May 1st., 1998</TT><P> <H3><FONT FACE="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">Leading jailed dissident not seriously ill - Cuba </FONT></H3> <P><TT>By Andrew Cawthorne </TT></P> <P><FONT SIZE="+3"><B><FONT COLOR="#000000">H</FONT></B></FONT>AVANA, April 30 (Reuters) - The Cuban government denied on Thursday reports that a leading jailed dissident, who has been championed by human rights groups, some foreign governments and the Vatican, was seriously ill. </P> <P>Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Gonzalez said Martha Beatriz Roque, in jail without trial since July 1997, had faked one bout of illness, had been adequately treated for other conditions and was now in a "favorable'' state of health. </P> <P>She is one of four prominent jailed dissidents for whom Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien unsuccessfully pleaded for clemency with Cuba's Fidel Castro during a visit earlier this week. Members of the Canadian delegation, presenting the cases of the four as symbolic of all the estimated 350 political prisoners here, said they believed Roque was ill. </P> <P>U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin recently showed reporters a copy of a letter, allegedly written by Roque on a piece of toilet paper smuggled out of jail, complaining of poor health and saying she needed urgent attention. </P> <P>Roque's family told Reuters earlier this week she was in a very bad state of health at the Havana women's prison, where she was being held. </P> <P>But Gonzalez, the government spokesman, said on Thursday, "It is totally false that this lady is facing health problems that require medical attention urgently.'' </P> <P>"The spokesman of the (U.S.) State Department showed or has in his possession a scrap of toilet paper. I have official medical reports,'' he added. </P> <P>Gonzalez then displayed to reporters papers that he said showed Roque had been successfully treated in prison for mammary and gynecological problems, vertigo, and vomiting. </P> <P>A muscle loss problem she complained of was "a case of pretense,'' he said. "At the moment, according to the medical history, the detained (woman) has improved in a substantial way and her current state is favorable,'' he said. </P> <P>Chretien's personal plea for Roque and the three others followed appeals, also unsuccessful, from European Union nations and international rights groups for their release. </P> <P>But Gonzalez reiterated on Thursday Castro's declaration, made after Chretien's departure on Tuesday, that no promise had been made that they or any other prisoners would be freed. </P> <P>"I can assure you that there does not exist on our part, nor was there during the visit, any type of commitment for freedom, clemency or pardon of prisoners,'' he said. </P> <P>Asked if Cuba would allow an independent observer to visit Roque in prison, the spokesman said that Cuba does not accept such "pressure'' or "meddling.'' "Our nation is a serious country that, when it speaks, tells the truth in a documented manner,'' he said. </P> <P>Roque and the three other members of her group of dissidents—Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne and Rene Gomez Manzano—were detained last year after openly calling for democratic reforms in Cuba's one-party communist system. </P> <P>They had been involved in an abortive attempt the previous year to create an umbrella group of dissident groups on the island. But on Feb. 24, 1996, Cuban security forces foiled a planned national meeting of the new dissident union by detaining or warning off dozens of its members. </P> <P>Authorities say the four are being held on suspicion of "counterrevolutionary'' activities and are beginning the trial process. </P> <P>They were included on a clemency-appeal list handed by the Vatican to the Cuban government during Pope John Paul's historic visit in January. But they were not among the subsequent releases Cuba carried out. </P> <P>REUTERS</P> <P>06:48 p.m Apr 30, 1998 Eastern </P> </BODY></HTML>