asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will make representations to the Government of Cuba regarding the health, welfare and denial of access to reading materials, including the bible, of Dr Oscar Elias Biscet who was sentenced in 2003 to a term of imprisonment of 25 years for pro-democracy activities. [HL5336]

We remain concerned about the plight of Dr Oscar Elias Biscet and other political prisoners in Cuba. We are particularly worried about political prisoners such as Dr Biscet who are reported to be suffering poor health yet are not provided with adequate medical treatment. The UK considers Dr Biscet's imprisonment to be a violation of his civil and political freedoms. At the time of Dr Biscet's detention, the UK and EU condemned these violations and called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Cuba.

The UK, along with our EU partners, is committed to seeking improvements in civil and political freedoms in Cuba. We regularly raise the situation of political prisoners in Cuba with the Cuban authorities both in London and Havana and call for their immediate release. On 30 April my right honourable friend the then Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, expressed concern about political prisoners and other human rights issues during a meeting with Cuban Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, Antonio Carricarte.

In addition, our embassy in Havana continues to monitor Dr Biscet's case and maintains contact with his supporters and family. On 10 December 2006 officials from the embassy met Dr. Biscet's wife, Elsa Morejon. More information on the human rights situation in Cuba and on UK and EU actions can be found in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's annual human rights report, available at www.fco.gov. uk/humanrights.