The U.S. government admonished the Cuban government this week for the alleged abduction and beating of a young female blogger that reportedly left bruises on her back and has her walking with a crutch.
Yoani Sanchez, 34, whom Time named as one of the 100 most influential persons in 2008 for her criticism of the Communist Cuban government in her blog titled Generacion Y, says she and fellow blogger Orlando Luis Pardo were abducted by state security agents on Friday while on their way to a "march against violence."
Late Monday, the U.S. state department issued a strongly worded rebuke to the Cuban government for the alleged attack, according to the Miami Herald.
"The U.S. government strongly deplores the assault," the statement said. "We have expressed to the Cuban government our deep concern . . . and we are following up with inquiries to [the three bloggers] . . . regarding their personal well-being and access to medical care."
Also condemning the incident was U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat. "Despite all the hoped-for change on the island, the regime continues to rule with an iron fist that crushes any seed of free speech or human rights.''
Sanchez -- who circumvents Cuban censorship by emailing her missives to friends in the United States, who in turn publish her blog -- this week penned an impassioned entry about the incident. She criticized nearby witnesses for their apparent refusal to testify, as well as the doctor who treated her, for reportedly refusing to record the incident as an assault.
"To those who feel there should be more bruises and even fractures before they can feel compassion for the person attacked, not only are they quantifying the pain, they are also saying to the attacker, 'You have to leave more signs, you must be more aggressive,' " she wrote. "Last night I went to the clinic and they treated me for the pain and inflammation. It is nothing that my youth and good health cannot overcome. Fortunately, the blow they gave me when they forced my head to the floor of the car has not affected my eye, only the cheekbone and the brow. I hope to have recovered in a few days."
