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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Cuba Will Free Dissidents and Allow Them to Stay

Cuba Will Free Dissidents and Allow Them to Stay
Published November 29, 2010
Fox News Latino
AP

Nov 25: Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez, right, shakes hands
with Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana, Cuba, during his visit.

Cuba will release 11 jailed dissidents to complete a July agreement to
free 52 people jailed since a 2003 crackdown – and it may happen before
Christmas.

Speaking in Madrid, Havana Archbishop Jaime Ortega said the 11 will be
allowed to remain in Cuba but that at least one of them may travel to
the U.S.

He did not say exactly when the release would take place. Ortega spoke
after meeting 15 former Cuban prisoners now living in Spain.

One of the ex-inmates, Juan Carlos Herrera, said the cleric had told
them the final 11 would be released by Dec. 25, but this could not be
confirmed.

Cuba agreed in July to release the 52 prisoners, and most of the 41
already freed have moved to Spain.

All the releases were supposed to be completed by Nov. 8, but the
deadline was missed.

Ortega said the former inmates he met in Madrid expressed concern about
some of their family members still in Cuba, their own legal status in
Spain and their future.

The release deal was negotiated by the church with help from Spain.
Ortega flew to Madrid last week to meet with Spanish Foreign Minister
Trinidad Jiménez.

Besides the dissidents, Cuba has also recently freed another 11 people
jailed for other crimes. They also went to Spain.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2010/11/29/cuba-release-dissidents-christmas/

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