By Maira Magro
Dissident Cuban journalist Guillermo Coco Fariñas, on a hunger strike for four months, is in critical condition and risks death, reported the website Cubanet.
Fariñas, who began the hunger strike to demand the freedom of Cuba's political prisoners, is in intensive care at a hospital in Santa Clara, about 160 miles outside of Havana. In recent days his condition worsened after developing a blood clot in the left jugular vein to the neck that could move toward vital organs like the heart, brain or lungs, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC.
According to that article, Fariñas suffers complications from hepatitis and kidney problems, he has had a fever, and his nervous system has "collasped." His doctors said they are "alarmed" by his state and that their expectations are "far from encouraging," the article said.
Although in the last few hours he has experienced a slight improvement, according to EFE, with his fever breaking and the inflammation in his left arm diminishing, he remains in critical condition.
Amnesty International this week published a report about Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba, which refers to a "climate of terror" for journalists, dissidents, and activists on the island.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
