Dear Friends,
Yesterday, on Sunday, July 20, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet celebrated his 47th birthday in the Combinado del Este Prison in Guanabacoa, Cuba.
Dr. Biscet is now in his fifth year of a 25 year prison sentence, handed down during a massive crackdown on human rights and democracy activists in Cuba during what is now referred to as Cuba’s Black Spring. He had previously served a three-year prison sentence and was free for only a month before his detention, which took place when he tried to organise a human rights discussion group.
Through his imprisonments, Dr. Biscet has suffered from ill health and has repeatedly been denied medical treatment. He has also, on occasion, had his Bible and other religious materials confiscated. At the moment, however it appears that he is able to keep them with him.
Prison conditions, particularly for political prisoners, are generally very bad in Cuba and Dr. Biscet has frequently been forced to share a cell with prisoners convicted of committing violent crimes or has been sent to solidarity confinement in cells with no light or running water. He has also regularly been denied the right to pastoral and family visits. However, his faith, according to his wife, Elsa Morejon, remains strong.
Many of you have prayed for and written to Dr. Biscet and his family for many years. We would encourage you to consider sending him a birthday card or letter to remind him, and those responsible for his imprisonment, that although physically he may have celebrated his birthday alone, there were and are, in spirit, many people around the world celebrating another year of his life.
Yesterday, on Sunday, July 20, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet celebrated his 47th birthday in the Combinado del Este Prison in Guanabacoa, Cuba.
Dr. Biscet is now in his fifth year of a 25 year prison sentence, handed down during a massive crackdown on human rights and democracy activists in Cuba during what is now referred to as Cuba’s Black Spring. He had previously served a three-year prison sentence and was free for only a month before his detention, which took place when he tried to organise a human rights discussion group.
Through his imprisonments, Dr. Biscet has suffered from ill health and has repeatedly been denied medical treatment. He has also, on occasion, had his Bible and other religious materials confiscated. At the moment, however it appears that he is able to keep them with him.
Prison conditions, particularly for political prisoners, are generally very bad in Cuba and Dr. Biscet has frequently been forced to share a cell with prisoners convicted of committing violent crimes or has been sent to solidarity confinement in cells with no light or running water. He has also regularly been denied the right to pastoral and family visits. However, his faith, according to his wife, Elsa Morejon, remains strong.
Many of you have prayed for and written to Dr. Biscet and his family for many years. We would encourage you to consider sending him a birthday card or letter to remind him, and those responsible for his imprisonment, that although physically he may have celebrated his birthday alone, there were and are, in spirit, many people around the world celebrating another year of his life.
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Prisión Combinado del Este
Carretera Monumentaldel Cotorro, Guanabacoa CUBA
For additional guidance on letter writing do consult Connect & Encourage our address book for the persecuted church at http://www.csw.org.uk/writetothepersecuted.htm
Thank you,
CSW Advocacy Team
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