Cuba will shortly release the last two of 75 dissidents detained in 2003, after almost nine months of historic negotiations with the Catholic Church, the offices of the archbishop of Havana said on Tuesday.
“Continuing the process of prisoner releases ... it has been agreed upon to free” Felix Navarro and Jose Ferrer, said a statement from the archbishopric, which is mediating in the affair. Navarro’s daughter Sayli said the release could occur as early as yesterday.
The freeing of the last two will end the largest wave of dissident releases in the past decade.
The 75 were detained in a repressive sweep in March 2003, which raised international uproar and provoked the EU to cancel official visits to Cuba and suspend cooperation programs.
Between 2003 and last year, 23 of the 75 were freed, mainly for health reasons, while the church reached a deal to free 52 more in May last year.
From July 7 last year, 40 of the 52 were freed to go into exile in Spain, and 10 others later left prison to remain in Cuba.
Navarro and Ferrer have refused to emigrate to Spain.
Navarro, 57, is a teacher and political activist who was sentenced to 25 years in jail. Ferrer, a 40-year-old fisherman and member of a dissident movement, also received a 25-year sentence.
The church also announced on Tuesday the imminent release of another 11 prisoners, detained on charges including terrorism and piracy, who have accepted to emigrate to Spain.
A total of 114 prisoners have agreed to emigrate to Spain, according to the church, while opposition groups say around 60 dissidents still remain in prison.
The communist government denies the existence of political prisoners and accuses the detainees of being US “mercenaries.”
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