Cuba frees the first of 13 political prisoners
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press
HAVANA -- The first of 13 remaining Cuban dissidents jailed since 2003
was released from prison Saturday and returned to his home in the
capital, a strong signal the government intends to release all of the
men despite their refusal to go into exile.
Bertha Soler, a member of the Ladies in White dissident group, told The
Associated Press that Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique had "arrived at his
apartment" in central Havana after his wife received a telephone call
from Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega informing her of the government's
intentions.
Soler said another of the 13, who had been on the fence about whether to
accept the government's offer to go into exile with his family, had
finally decided to take the deal. She said the man, Luis Enrique Ferrer
Garcia, would leave for Spain soon, along with his family.
There was no immediate comment from the Roman Catholic Church, which had
announced all of the previous releases. The government has refused to
comment as the process has unfolded.
The 68-year-old Ramos was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2003 along
with 74 other activists on charges of receiving money and support from
the United States to destroy the revolution. Some of them were later
released for health reasons.
After a meeting with President Raul Castro on July 7, Ortega announced
that the 52 still in prison would be let go over the course of four
months. Thirty-nine of the men were freed and sent into exile in Spain,
but progress stalled as the last 13 refused to leave the island.
A Nov. 7 deadline passed without news on the men's fate, but in recent
days the government has given signals it still planned to make good on
its word.
The wife of another of the men told the AP on Friday that a state
security official visited him in jail to tell him he would be home
within the month, and Laura Pollan, a leader of the Ladies in White,
said that church officials had told her to be patient.
"They said the agreement has not been broken and the process of
liberation will continue, even though the deadline has passed," she said.
Still, Ramos's release was the first concrete sign of continued progress.
"Arnaldo is the first of the 13 to be freed. He is fine," said Soler,
whose husband Angel Moya is one of the prisoners who have refused to
leave the island. Some of the men have vowed to continue their fight for
democracy the moment they get out of jail, but it was not immediately
clear if Ramos will return to political activities.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/14/1925152/cuba-frees-the-first-of-13-political.html
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