“On the eve of the second anniversary of Raul Castro coming to power, Orlando Zapata Tamayo has died.  We decree national mourning” tweeted Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez from Havana on February 23, 2010.  That day Orlando Zapata Tamayo, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, died following an 86-day hunger strike for better prison conditions.  Zapata was arrested in 2003 during a massive crackdown by Cuban authorities against independent civil society.  He was one of 55 prisoners of conscience in Cuba to have been adopted by Amnesty International.  He was charged with an array of offences including “resistance,” “contempt” and “disrespect.”  Such charges are commonplace in Cuba, where freedom of expression is severely limited and political power remains centralized. 

Zapata was being held in the Holguin provincial prison where in October of 2009, military personnel severely abused him, causing an internal hematoma in his head so severe that he had to undergo surgery.  Shortly after that, in December 2009, Zapata began his hunger strike calling for improved prison conditions.  Zapata, only 42 years old, fought for political and social freedom in a country where dissent is not tolerated.  His death is reflective of the struggles Cubans across the island face daily while calling for liberty, and respect for human life and dignity in their country.

Zapata’s death has rallied independent actors everywhere, from fellow political prisoners to independent writers and civic activists, to the wives and sisters of political prisoners, known as the Damas de Blanco (Women in White), the country has been in national mourning.  Other activists have vowed to continue Zapata’s call for better treatment and basic rights for all political prisoners in Cuba.  Guillermo Fariñas, an independent journalist stopped eating the day after Zapata’s death, to press for the release of 26 ill political prisoners. 

The spotlight has been put back on Cuba’s human rights record, and with it hope that there will be an end to the persecution suffered by the remaining prisoners of conscience, and vital sustenance for independent actors to take part in collaborative issue-based engagement in their communities and nation.

As Representative Mario Diaz-Balart stated, “With the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo went the life of one fearless leader, but not the spirit of a nation.  The Cuban people are continuing their plight for freedom and democracy and the world must stand in solidarity with them.  Like Zapata, there are hundreds of pro-democracy leaders in Cuba that will continue to make a strong statement, one of democracy, liberty, and respect for human life and dignity.”

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