A/HRC/4/12 page 8 22. These persons were tried in very short order, sometimes within a few days, denying them sufficient time to prepare their defence. Neither independent counsel nor diplomats nor foreign journalists were allowed to attend these trials. Prison terms ranging from 6 to 28 years were imposed. 23. Moreover, in 2005 and 2006 more people were arrested and convicted for openly expressing dissident political opinions. These people continued to suffer harassment, intimidation and censorship after their release. 24. On 28 July 2005, the Personal Representative of the High Commissioner sent a letter to Cuba seeking information on the situation of 9 persons still being held following the arrest of 33 persons by the security services during a demonstration in front of the French Embassy in Havana on 22 July 2005. On 26 July 2005, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders and the Chairperson of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had sent an urgent appeal on the same subject. 25. The persons concerned are: Santiago Valdeolla Pérez, Julio César López Rodríguez, Francisco Mouré Saladrigas, Oscar Mario González, Miguel López Santos, Jesús Adolfo Reyes, Raúl Martínez Prieto, Ricardo Medina Salabarria and René Gómez Manzano. 26. The Personal Representative of the High Commissioner has not received any response to her request for information made on 28 July 2005. 27. In May 2005, a number of journalists and members of the European Parliament were deported from Cuba. 28. According to Amnesty International, René Montes de Oca Martija, Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez, Emilio Leyva Pérez, Lázaro Alonso Román and Manuel Pérez Soria are due to go on trial on 19 and 20 December 2006 for public disorder. They were arrested on 13 July 2005 for participating in a peaceful demonstration. There are serious concerns over the trial since, as noted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Cuban legal system offers no guarantees of independence. 29. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention sent nine urgent appeals to the Cuban authorities in 2006; the Cuban authorities either did not reply, or disputed the reported events. 30. The Personal Representative of the High Commissioner is alarmed at the allegations of ill-treatment in detention submitted by families of prisoners. Food and hygiene are substandard and medical care either unavailable or inappropriate. Some prisoners are kept in solitary confinement, while others are subjected to dangerous levels of overcrowding with ordinary prisoners. There have been several reports of guards humiliating and even striking prisoners. Relatives encounter many problems when trying to arrange visits to prisoners.