Freed Cuban dissident arrives in Miami from Mexico

[Jimmy2]

BY JUAN CARLOS CHAVEZ

Attorney and journalist Mario Enrique Mayo, imprisoned in 2003 by the Cuban government, arrived Wednesday in Miami on a commercial flight from Mexico.

Mayo was freed in December 2005 after two suicide attempts, several hunger strikes and other acts of protest at the Kilo 7 prison of Camagüey, Cuba, where he was confined with the other activists.

Mayo had been sentenced to a 20-year prison term on charges of having undermined the principles of the Cuban revolution and for acts of civil disobedience.

While in prison, Mayo tried twice to hang himself with a nylon rope. He also lacerated his face with the initials ''L,'' for liberty, and ''I,'' for innocence, and demanded his unconditional release. He suffered from hypertension and other health problems, including mental issues.

The 2003 roundup resulted in prison sentences of up to 28 years for some of the dissidents. Some 54 remain jailed, including 28 journalists.

Nine of the journalists have been released on parole due to illnesses, and four have opted for exile.

According to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, led by opposition leader Elizardo Sanchez, Cuban authorities are holding 205 political prisoners, 29 fewer than last year.

In February 2008, journalists Jose Gabriel Ramon Castillo and Alejandro Gonzalez Raga, sentenced to 20 and 14 years respectively, were freed after the Spanish government worked for their release.