[NYTr] Cuba Frees Yet Another "Dissident"
 
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:28:07 -0500 (CDT)


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sent by rick kissell 

BBC NEWS - Aug 11,2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6941582.stm

Cuba frees long-serving dissident [sic]

By Michael Voss
BBC News, Havana

A well-known Cuban dissident has been freed from jail after serving 
nearly 15 years for revealing state security secrets, a human rights 
group has said.

Francisco Chaviano, a former teacher, was sentenced in 1995 and was 
released on parole on Friday.

The independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National 
Reconciliation said that he was Cuba's longest-serving political
prisoner. [??? 15 years? I do believe there were others in jail longer.
What about the [in]famous Miami favorite Hubert Matos?]

The Cuban government has not commented on Mr Chaviano's release.

Mr Chaviano had been one of Cuba's leading dissidents and human rights 
activists in the early 1990s.

In the past Amnesty International has described his military trial as 
falling short of international standards.

Prison conditions

The number of political prisoners in Cuba has fallen by about 20% since 
Raul Castro, brother of President Fidel Castro, was named as acting 
president just over a year ago, according to the Human Rights
commission.

But its spokesman, Elizardo Sanchez, said that there were still more 
than 200 such prisoners living in what he described as sub-human and 
degrading conditions. [Somehow there are ALWAYS "more than 200
prisoners" of so-called conscience, no matter how many of these creepy
traitors Cuba frees. Conscience here meaning taking yankee dollars to
do the bidding of the US CIA on instructions from the interests
section.]

The Cuban authorities denied that they were political prisoners, 
describing them as "counter-revolutionary mercenaries" on the payroll
of the United States.

Also on Friday, another former political prisoner, Martha Beatriz
Roque, held a news conference to denounce prison conditions. [Ah yes,
Martha, who makes enough yanqui dollars to afford hiring a "maid." ]

At the residence of the top US diplomat in Havana, she was joined by 
relatives of a number of dissidents currently in jail.

The families complained of a lack of medical care, overcrowding and 
intimidation and said common criminals were treated better than 
political prisoners.

B) BBC MMVII
 
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