Lovaina, who co-authored the "University without Borders" project, was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration under charges of contempt and resistance to authorities. Rafael Fonseca Ochoa, a director of the organization was permitted to visit Lovaina. Fonseca Ochoa stated that Lovaina is very ill. "He has visibly lost a tremendous amount of weight, and is suffering from an attack of scabies, resulting from the poor hygienic conditions at the prison where he is at".
This report, read to Tete Machado in Miami by Heriberto Leyva from Cuba concludes: "We call upon the international community, the international human rights organizations, and the universities around the world to demand from the Cuban government Mr. Lovaina's immediate and unconditional release from prison, and for an end to the repression, persecution, and harassment to which the co-authors of the "University without Borders" project have been subjected."
Distributed in Miami on May 27, 1997 Ariel Hidalgo Tete Machado