Omar Moisés Ruiz Hernández (born November 16, 1947) is a Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

. Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 declared him as an international prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...

 after he was imprisoned in 2003 during a crackdown on dissidents

Black Spring (Cuba)

Black Spring refers to the 2003 crackdown on Cuban dissidents. The government imprisoned 75 dissidents, that included 29 journalists, as well as librarians, human rights activists, and democracy activists, on the basis that they were acting as agents of the United States by accepting aid from...

. He worked for dissident press agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro (Decoro Working Group) before sentenced to 18 years in prison.

He has been vice delegate of the unofficial Partido Solidaridad Democrática (Democratic Solidarity Party) in Villa Clara

Villa Clara

Villa Clara may refer to:*Villa Clara Province, Cuba*Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina...

.

He is an Honorary Member of Swedish PEN Centre

International PEN

PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....

.

He is believed to have endured maltreatment such as solitary confinement

Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...

, being held in punishment cells and harassment. The Inter American Press Association reported in 2007 that he had tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

and a chronic parasitic infection, and weighed only 45 kilograms (about 100 pounds).

External links

• Profile at Payolibre.com
• Profile at Directorio.org
• International PEN campaign