December 12, 2010
In commemoration of International Human Rights Day, Freedom House -- together with Foreign Policy -- has put together a list of 15 of the world's most prominent political prisoners (in addition to Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo of China).
It includes such inspirational figures as Nikolai Avtuhovich of Belarus, U Gambira of Burma, Hu Jia of China, Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran, Haitham Al-Maleh of Syria and Thich Quang Do of Vietnam.
It's entitled Planet Gulag -- please click here and read all 15 stories.
Meanwhile, there's only political prisoner on the list from the Western Hemisphere:
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Óscar Elías Biscet, a physician, is the founder and president of the Cuba-based Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, which advocates for a peaceful transition to a multiparty democracy and the release of political prisoners. Arrested and sentenced during the "Black Spring" of 2003, Biscet is part of the "Group of 75" activists who were punished for defending human rights and democratic values.
This July, the Cuban government announced its plan to release Biscet and several other political prisoners. But after releasing 41 individuals into exile and allowing one detainee to stay on the island for humanitarian reasons, Cuba failed to meet its Nov. 7 deadline for releasing all 52 prisoners. The 11 who remain in prison -- including Biscet -- have refused to accept exile from Cuba.
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