The
Cuban government has freed all 53 of its political prisoners, as part
of its normalisation deal with the US, according to a senior Obama
administration official say.
Monday’s
development follows last month’s agreement between the US and Cuba,
leading to President Barack Obama ordering the initiation of steps to
normalise relations between the two countries, ending a 54-year US trade
embargo on Cuba.
“We
welcome this very positive development and are pleased that the
Cuban government followed through on this commitment,” a US official
said.
“Our Interests Section in Havana was able to verify these releases.
“These
political prisoners were individuals who had been cited by various human
rights organisations as being imprisoned by the Cuban government for
exercising internationally protected freedoms or for their promotion of
political and social reforms in Cuba.”
The
US official further said “the Cuban government has notified us that
they have completed the release of the 53 political prisoners that they
had committed to free”.
“During
our discussions with the Cubans, we shared the names of individuals
jailed in Cuba on charges related to their political activities. The
Cuban government made the sovereign decision to release those
individuals.”
Dissident
leaders said late last week that Cuba had released at least 35 of the
political detainees, as part of the deal with the US administration.
http://www.punchng.com/news/cuba-frees-remaining-political-prisoners/
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