Mother of deceased Cuban dissident detained on the way to cemetery

Havana, Cuba, Nov 4, 2010 / 11:57 am

The mother of deceased Cuban political prisoner, Orlando Zapata, was detained—and later released—by Cuban security agents on her way to visit her son’s grave.

Reina Luisa Tamayo was among 40 dissidents beat and detained by security agents on Oct. 31. Her son, Orlando Zapata, died in February 2010 after a prolonged hunger strike protesting his imprisonment and mistreatment as a political dissident.

Although she was eventually released, Tamayo said she did not know the fate of the other dissidents who were detained.

Since Zapata died, his mother and other dissidents have  marched to their parish and the cemetery every Sunday to protest his death.

Although government security agents at first blocked the protests, they eventually allowed them to take place after Church officials intervened.