E/CN.4/1991/17 page 17 Cuba Urgent messages and Government replies 55. On 23 May 1990, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent message to the Government of Cuba concerning Mr. Juan Enrique Garcia, a member of the Association for Free Art (APEL) who was arrested in October 1988 and sentenced in November 1989 to 18 months in prison, plus two years for an earlier conviction. According to the information received, Mr. Garcia's state of health is allegedly very serious, since he is said to suffer from various illnesses, including digestive paralysis, and has been denied the necessary medical treatment. 56. On 13 August 1990, the Government of Cuba sent the following information to the Special Rapporteur: "At present, Mr. Garcia Cruz is in the National Prisoners' Hospital in Combinado del Este, where he was visited last 21 June by officials from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic. Prior to the above-mentioned communication, the prison authorities arranged for a thorough medical check-up for Garcia Cruz, who specifically recognizes that the check-up is up to the standard available in any of the hospitals in the country. Thus, since he has been found to have gastritis and chronic duodenitis, a balanced diet which satisfies the medical requirements in the case has been ordered." Ecuador Urgent messages and Government replies 57. On 7 June 1990, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent message to the Government of Ecuador concerning Mr. Rene Sangolqui, aged 27, who was arrested on 7 May 1990 by two policemen in the town of Loja. According to the information received, Mr. Sangolqui was allegedly interrogated under torture to make him confess to having taken part in the murder of two persons in Vilcabamba on 5 March 199D. Mr. Sangolqui is still in detention and fear has been expressed that he might again be subjected to torture. 58. On 12 July 1990, the Government of Ecuador informed the Special Rapporteur that Mr. Sangolqui's case was not one of arbitrary or unlawful detention, but of proceedings conducted with every legal guarantee. "With regard to the complaints of the alleged torture of this person during the police investigations, the National Government is conducting thorough investigations and will impose the necessary penalties when it finds the persons responsible for having violated the trade union's individual rights and guarantees". 59. On 6 July 1990, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent message to the Government of Uruguay concerning Mrs. Rosa Cardenas Hernandez, aged 30. It is reported that she voluntarily turned herself in to the law enforcement authorities as a result of an arrest warrant for her alleged participation in the kidnapping of Mr. Nahin Isaias in August 1985. Since October 1983, Mrs. Cardenas Hernandez has allegedly been persecuted and threatened as a