It is with a deep sense of grief that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland reports of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the Cuban political prisoner, who passed away in Havana on Feb. 23rd 2010 following a hunger strike that lasted two months. A renowned Cuban human rights activist and an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, Orlando Zapata Tamayo has been held prisoner since March 2003. He began a hunger strike on Dec. 3rd 2009 in protest against being treated on a par with common criminals.

The European Union repeatedly called on to the Cuban authorities for humane treatment of political prisoners and immediate release of those in ill health. Poland fully supports this position and joins the European Union’s appeals for respect for human rights in Cuba.