Journalist Roberto Quiñones tells of his bad conditions in a Cuban prison

The Cuban independent journalist Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces has counted in Cubanet What are the conditions like in the prison where he serves? one year in prison in Guantanamo after being condemned by the regime.

"Today, September 20, I turn 62 (...) I am in cubicle 4 of the 1-A inmate detachment of the Provincial Prison of Guantánamo, Cuba. The premises – approximately 15 meters long by 9 meters wide – have 10 double bunk beds, two “toilets” for urinating and defecating, known as “turks,” and a dirty and rusty metal tank, from which we obtain water to drink and bathe," his letter begins.

Quiñones, who was recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, shares that space with about 20 inmates, who advised him not to complain because they punish those who demand their rights.

"In addition to the bedbugs, the poor quality of the water and food, the cockroaches and mosquitoes, other inmates have assured me that the Guantánamo prison has better conditions than those in Mar Verde, Boniato and Aguadores, the three in Santiago of Cuba (...)", detailed in the letter dated September 20.

"For lunch they gave us white rice, boiled plantain, watery black beans and black pudding with an unpleasant smell and taste. For lunch they gave congrí rice, boiled plantain, meat pasta and soup. Despite the poor quality of the food, I thanked God , as I always do, for them and for my anniversary, despite the circumstances in which I celebrated it," he continues.

Quinones He has also confessed that he celebrates "being here because I have put my dignity first in the face of blackmail. I am glad that I have not given up despite the injustice that I suffer and the pain that I have caused to my most loved ones. I am glad that I am able to share the pain with other suffering, excluded people." and forgotten."

Since September 11, when he was arrested, requested a phone call, but it was not until the 21st that they allowed him to make it.

"This is a right incorporated into the penitentiary regulations in Cuba after learning about the conditions that the five Cuban spies of the Avispa network enjoyed in North American prisons, where they freely exchanged correspondence with thousands of people and even offered interviews to the media." , he comments.