/ 8 June 2000

CUBAN DOCTORS DISAPPEAR IN ZIM

THE UN has expressed concern at the plight of two dissident Cuban doctors reportedly detained in Zimbabwe after seeking asylum in a third country. The two, Leonel Cordova Rodriguez, 31, and Noris Pea Martinez, 25, were taken from their home by armed soldiers in the capital, Harare, on Friday afer allegedly denouncing the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, and bundled aboard a flight to Johannesburg. As officials accompanying them tried to get them to board a Paris-bound Air France flight for an onward journey to Havana, Cuba, a hastily written note was passed to an airline employee. Diplomats said they believed the two doctors were returned to Zimbabwe after the airline refused to take them on board. The two doctors are believed to be in police custody in Harare, although the police have denied detaining them. UN officials say Zimbabwe is required under national and international law not to deport them until their case can be heard.