Cuban authorities on Friday began to free prisoners after announcing it would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as it faces heightened US pressure.
More than 20 inmates came out of La Lima penitentiary in east Havana, holding their release papers, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning.
“Thank you for this opportunity that they gave us,” said Albis Gainza, 46, who had served half of a six-year sentence for robbery.
Photo: AFP
He said he could not sleep after learning he would be released.
“This needs to keep going... [and] more are released,” Gainza said.
The Cuban government on Thursday announced that it would pardon 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” to mark Holy Week.
It did not link it to talks with the US, but the move came days after US President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island.
Releasing political prisoners has long been a core US demand in Cuba, but it was not immediately clear if any were among those pardoned, as no list was published.
The US Department of State said it was aware of reports of the prisoner release, “though it is unclear how many, if any, political prisoners will be released.”
“We continue to call for the immediate release of the hundreds of other brave Cuban patriots who remain unjustly detained,” a department spokesperson said.
Cuba is holding 775 political prisoners, rights group Justicia11J said.
“Any release represents immediate relief, especially for the families,” Justicia11J said, but warned that the gesture “does not constitute a change in the Cuban State’s repressive policies.”
The Cuban government said the releases would be based on the nature of the crimes, good behavior, health reasons and time served.
Those released would not include people who committed murder, sex assault, drug-related crimes, theft, illegal slaughter of livestock and “crimes against authority,” it said.
Justicia11J said the mention of the all-encompassing “crimes against authority” was “particularly concerning,” as the charges have served as “instruments of political repression in Cuba.”
The Cuban government said the people being freed include young people, women and prisoners older than 60 years old who are scheduled for early release within the next six months to a year.
The government last month announced that it would free 51 prisoners as a sign of “good will” toward the Vatican, which has often acted as a mediator between Washington and Havana.
At least 20 political prisoners were released in the wake of that announcement, rights group Cubalex said.
Of half a dozen former prisoners interviewed by Agence France-Presse outside La Lima, none were jailed for political reasons.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS