Cuban man returned to Costa Rica airport after trip to hospital

Inside Costa Rica

May 23^rd, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Yorvanky Perez de Piña, a Cuban man who has been living in the Juan Santamaria International Airport since his arrival on April 24^th, is back to the airport after a trip to the hospital for dehydration Wednesday night.

Perez was treated for “mild dehydration” according to the doctor who treated him at San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela.  Perez has allegedly been on hunger strike since about May 7^th.

Perez had previously been living in Costa Rica since early 2012.  He had traveled to Cuba and spent six months caring for his ill mother, according to Perez, but was refused re-entry to Costa Rica after returning from the trip on April 24^th.

Perez had a provisional refugee ID card and a work permit but both were expired, his lawyer said, adding that Perez had never requested permanent residence despite the fact that he has been married to a Costa Rican woman since April 2012.

Last month, the couple’s lawyer filed a writ of habeas corpus aimed at getting his client released, after which the constitutional court ordered authorities to provide Perez with food and facilities for his personal hygiene and to not deport him while the matter is being resolved.

Immigration authorities refused Perez’s asylum request for the third time on May 13^th, and his lawyer said this week that all legal avenues for his client’s asylum in Costa Rica have been exhausted, forcing them to consider seeking asylum in a third-party country.

Perez has claimed that his life would be in danger if returned to his native Cuba.

Perez remains living in the airport as of press time.  Tomorrow will mark one month since his arrival.