The doctor who reported the Cuban dengue-fever epidemic internationally was sentenced on Nov 25 to 8 years in prison. Desi Mendoza Rivero was found guilty of using mass media to spread enemy propaganda (see Lancet Nov 29, p 1609).
Critics have charged that Mendoza grossly exaggerated the scale of the epidemic by reporting several thousand cases including haemorrhagic complications. No final official data have been published, but confirmed cases are thought to number almost 3000, including about 200 cases of haemorrhagic fever. Suspected cases are likely to have numbered many more, in line with Mendoza's reports.
James Welsh, coordinator of Amnesty International's medical program said the 8-year sentence was a "draconian, and clearly political, punishment", in breach of basic rights of expression, and unacceptable. "Mendoza should be freed immediately", he urged. AI is calling on doctors worldwide to press the Cuban authorities to release Mendoza.
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