BISCET BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Oscar Elias Biscet was born July 20, 1961, in the city of Havana, in the midst of a home where God was worshipped and love of neighbor was put into action. In 1985, he received his medical doctor degree, with a specialization in internal medicine. In 1987, he began practicing his profession and teaching medicine at the Hospital Obstétrico-Pediátrico Hijas de Galicia in Havana. Towards the end of the 1980’s, he openly opposed Cuba’s communist regime and, in 1994, Cuban authorities opened an official case where he was accused of carrying out “dangerous activities”.

Dr. Biscet was finally arrested, November 3, 1999, and officially accused of crimes such as “dishonoring national symbols”, “disorderly conduct”,” and “inciting to delinquent conduct”. As a result of these accusations, Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 3 years in prison which he served in a penitentiary located in the vicinity of Holguín, in the Province of Oriente, in easternmost Cuba.

Towards the end of 2002, after having served his three-year sentence, Dr. Biscet was released and allowed to return home. Only a month later, he was once again arrested and accused of dangerous activities against the security of the state. This time, he was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, many of which were served in conditions of absolute isolation in a penitentiary in the province of Pinar del Río.

Finally, thanks to pressure from religious and human rights organizations, Dr. Biscet and other prisoners of the Primavera Negra (Black Spring) were placed on conditional liberty in the month of March, 2011. Two years later, January 9, 2013, Dr. Biscet and ten opponents of the communist regime announced the Proyecto Emilia (Emilia Project) where they denounced oppression, violations of human rights, as well as demanded transition to a democratic system based on representation.

Dr. Biscet’s courageous defense of liberty for Cuba has earned him the respect of people and organizations throughout the world. Among the awards he has received are the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States George W. Bush, Paladín de la Libertad (Champions of Liberty) by the Partido Nacionalista Democrático de Cuba (Nationalist Democratic Party of Cuba), Premio Derechos Humanos de la Fundación Hispano Cubana (Human Rights Award Hispanic Cuban Foundation), Premio Defensor de la Vida (Defender of Life Award) by the Centro Internacional Para la Defensa de la Vida (CIDEVIDA) (International Center for the Defense of Life) and Doctor Honoris Causa, Miami-Dade College.

Currently, Dr. Biscet and other members of the Emilia Project are arrested, harassed and watched by the members of State Security of the Castro tyranny. On their end, the Castro regime has shown interest in having Dr. Biscet follow in the footsteps of other former prisoners of the Black Spring by leaving the country. This courageous Cuban of convictions, who flatly refuses to leave, has stated that Cuba is his homeland and that he will not cave in to pressure and intimidation in the exercise of his citizen’s rights.