Spain to host more Cuban ex-political prisoners
By JORGE SAINZ
Associated Press
MADRID -- Spain said Thursday around 30 former Cuban political prisoners
and 200 relatives will be brought to Madrid, the largest group yet to
arrive since the two countries agreed to the transfers.
A Foreign Ministry official said a plane chartered by Spain will fly
from Havana and arrive in the Spanish capital Friday.
The official said this mass release is part of an agreement Spain
reached with the Cuban government last summer.
Since then Spain has received an on-and-off trickle of ex-prisoners who
were part of a group of 75 rounded up in 2003 in a crackdown on
dissenters. The ones that came to Spain total 44.
The group to come Friday is separate from the 75. The official did not
give any further details.
Of the 44, five have since emigrated to the United States and another 30
hope to do so, said Regis Iglesias, one of the former political
prisoners who came to Spain.
The Spanish ministry official spoke on condition of anonymity in line
with ministry rules.
The last of the group of 75 arrested in Cuba were released last month
under an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.
Cuba has been freeing the 2003 dissidents gradually under an agreement
President Raul Castro and Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega reached in July.
Officials in Havana have complained the government has received little
credit in Washington and European capitals for the releases, which come
as President Raul Castro has overhauled the economy and legalized a
limited amount of private enterprise.
The Havana government considers all the dissidents to be common
criminals financed by the United States, which it says aims to use their
activities to destabilize the government.
Tag: Political prisoner
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/07/2155180/spain-to-host-more-cuban-ex-political.html
No comments:
Post a Comment