Óscar Elías Biscet
| Óscar Elías Biscet González | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
July 20, 1961 Havana, Cuba |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Spouse(s) | Elsa Morejón |
Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet González (born July 20, 1961 in Havana, Cuba), is a Cuban physician and an advocate for human rights and democratic freedoms in Cuba. He is also the founder of the Lawton Foundation.
Biscet was given a 25-year prison sentence in Cuba for allegedly committing crimes against the sovereignty and the integrity of the Cuban territory. Despite appeals from the United Nations, foreign governments, and international human rights organizations, the Cuban Government refused to release Biscet until March 11, 2011. In recognition of his advocacy efforts for human rights and democracy in Cuba, Biscet was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Biscet received a degree in medicine in 1985; the following year he initiated protests which led to his immediate suspension. Starting in 1988, Biscet revealed his political tension with the communist regime through speech. The Cuban government in 1994 officially opened a case file on Biscet, labeling him a counter-revolutionary and "dangerous". In 1997, Biscet founded the Lawton Foundation.
Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr are major influences in Biscet's writing and motivation. Others from whom Biscet has taken inspiration are Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, José Martí, and Frederick Douglass. He is a strong believer in a democratic government and advocates a pro-life position.
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