In today’s Washington Post,
Cuba to release 52 political prisoners, Catholic Church says
The Cuban government will free 52 political prisoners, Catholic officials in Havana said Wednesday, the largest release of captive dissidents in decades and a surprise gesture that could help thaw relations with the United States.
The scheduled release of those arrested in a March 2003 crackdown against pro-democracy activists on the island was brokered by the country’s archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, with help from visiting Spanish diplomats.
But I thought the Cuban government says there are no political prisoners in Cuba?
The Cuban government had nothing to say about the release, and human rights activists were cautious in their response to the church’s announcement.
Before you go celebrating, bear in mind that many other political prisoners will remain jailed in sub-human conditions, and that the people of Cuba themselves are hostages of the oppressive regime.
Babalu is all over the story, and has a list of the 52 to be deported from Cuba:
Pedro Argüelles Morán, Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, Mijail Barzaga Lugo, Oscar Elías Biscet González, Marcelo Cano Rodríguez, Eduardo Diaz Fleitas, Antonio Ramón Diaz Sánchez, Alfredo Domínguez Batista, Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, Efrén Fernández Fernández, Juan Adolfo Fernández Sáinz, José Daniel Ferrer García, Luis Enrique Ferrer García, Próspero Gaínza Agüero, Miguel Galván Gutiérrez, Julio César Gálvez Rodríguez, José Luis García Paneque, Ricardo Severino Gonzales Alfonso, Diosdado González Marrero, Lester González Pentón, Jorge Luis González Tanquero, Leonel Grave de Peralta Almenares, Iván Hernández Carrillo, Normando Hernández González, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, Regis Iglesias Ramírez, José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández, Librado Ricardo Linares García, Héctor Fernando Maseda Gutiérrez, José Miguel Martínez Hernández, Luis Milán Fernández, Nelson Molinet Espino, Ángel Juan Moya Acosta, Jesús Mustafá Felipe, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, Pablo Pacheco Ávila, Arturo Pérez de Alejo Rodriguez, Horacio Julio Pina Borrego, Fabio Prieto Llorente, Alfredo Manuel Pulido López, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerique, Blas Giraldo Reyes Rodríguez, Alexis Rodríguez Fernández, Omar Rodríguez Saludes, Omar Moisés Ruiz Hernández, Claro Sánchez Altarriba, Guido Sigler Amaya, Ricardo Silva Gual, Fidel Suárez Cruz, Manuel Ubals González, Héctor Raúl Valle Hernández, Antonio Augusto Villarreal Acosta.
Marc Masferrer believes there are at least 213 political prisoners and links to:
For the names of the 167 political prisoners counted by the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, click here.
For the names of the “prisoners of conscience” recognized as such by Amnesty International, go here.
Two Cuban political prisoners have been released after they completed their respective prison terms.
