be brought to Madrid
April 7, 2011 |Jorge Sainz, The 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 had acccused the
group of working with the U.S. government to undermine Cuba's socialist
system.
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