Posts
Dissident Guillermo Farinas will be represented by an empty chair at a ceremony for the EU's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Farinas was not allowed to leave for France to collect the award.
He has spent 11-and-a-half years in prison.
Earlier this year, Farinas was near death while on a 134-day hunger strike protesting the death of fellow dissident Orlando Zapata. He ended it when President Raul Castro promised the release of 52 prisoners.
Farinas is the third Cuban to receive the prize.
Yoani Sanchez, another dissident and well-known blogger, also was recently denied an exit permit to receive the $45,000 Jaime Brunet International Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in Spain.
FOR DETAILS ON SANCHEZ AWARD, SEE:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=381250&CategoryId=14510
