Mr. Speaker, we were shocked to learn that a Cuban prisoner, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died on February 23 after being on a hunger strike for two months to protest the conditions in which he was being held. Sentenced to 25 years in prison, he is the first political prisoner in Cuba to die in prison since 1972. And now, Agence France-Presse is reporting that another dissident, Guillermo Fariñas, has become seriously ill since he, too, went on a hunger strike.
While the Cuban government has the right to protect its national sovereignty against foreign intervention, that does not relieve Cuba of its international obligations to respect fundamental human rights. Nothing can justify suspending those rights.
The Bloc Québécois joins the international community in expressing its deep regret at the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. We also call on the Cuban government to respect fundamental human rights.