Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 260: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the concern surrounding the detention of a person (details supplied) in Cuba; if he has raised this matter with the Cuban authorities; if the matter has been discussed at European Union level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29689/04]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Adolfo Fernandez Sainz, a journalist, is one of 75 members of the peaceful opposition in Cuba, including other journalists, writers and doctors arrested in March and April 2003 and sentenced to prison terms of up to 28 years after a summary legal process that did not meet internationally accepted standards. Mr. Sainz was sentenced to 15 years and remains in custody, although seven of the original 75 prisoners have since been released on health grounds. I am aware of serious concerns regarding the conditions in which he and other prisoners of conscience are detained and family visits.

The Government's concern regarding the detention and sentencing of these dissidents, including Mr. Sainz, was conveyed at the time to the Cuban chargé d'affaires at a meeting in the Department of Foreign Affairs. On 5 June 2003, Ireland and its partners in the European Union decided to respond to the grave violation of international human rights standards involved by a range of measures including limiting bilateral high level governmental visits to Cuba and inviting dissidents to national day receptions offered by those EU member states with resident embassies in Havana. These measures remain in force and the position of the dissident prisoners has been discussed on a regular basis in the Council framework. On 14 June 2004, during the Irish Presidency of the EU, the General Affairs and External Relations Council again called on the Cuban Government to release immediately all those, like Mr. Sainz, who have been detained for political reasons. The General Affairs and External Relations Council also reiterated that constructive engagement remains the basis of the EU's policy towards Cuba.

I hope that the Cuban authorities will now move to release Mr. Sainz and all other prisoners of conscience in Cuba. Such a move, which is imperative on human rights grounds, would also make a significant contribution to the resumption of a full dialogue between the EU and Cuba.