Orlando Zapata Tamayo (May 15, 1967 – February 23, 2010) was a Cuban political activist and a political prisoner who died after hunger striking for more than 80 days. His death received international attention, and was viewed as a significant setback in Cuba's relationship with the U.S. the EU and the rest of the world. Biography Early life Orlando Zapata was the second son of a family of five brothers based in Banes, where he lived with his mother, a washerwoman by profession, and his stepfather. Looking for a better future, he emigrated to Havana, where he came into contact with former political prisoner Enri Saumell Peña, with whom he began in political activism. He was a member of the Republican Alternative Movement. Imprisonment Zapata was arrested on December 6, 2002, by agents of the Cuban police on charges of contempt, for which he was imprisoned for over three months. On March 20, 2003, 13 days after he was freed, he was arrested for a second time during a crackdown on dissidents and sent to the Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey. At the time of his arrest, he was participating in a hunger strike organized by the Assembly to Promote a Civil Society, taking place at the home of Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello. The hunger strike was meant as a petition for the release of several comrades. He was charged with contempt, public disorder, and disobedience and sentenced to 36 years in prison after several judicial processes. As a result, Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, "imprisoned solely for having peacefully exercised [his] rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly". The socialist Monthly Review, in contrast, expressed skepticism of Amnesty's statement, alleging that Zapata was arrested and convicted several times on charges of fraud, firearm possession, and assault with a machete. Orlando Zapata Tamayo was moved around several prisons, including Quivicán Prison, Guanajay Prison, and Combinado del Este Prison in Havana. Amnesty International reported that on October 20, 2003 Orlando "was dragged along the floor of the Combinado del Este Prison by prison officials after he requested medical attention, leaving his back full of lacerations." Orlando managed to smuggle a letter out following a brutal beating that was published by Cubanet in April 2004: "My dear brothers in the internal opposition in Cuba. I have many things to say to you, but I did not want