.- Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana recently announced that 11 more prisoners of conscience will soon be released by the Cuban government.
Forty-two dissidents have already been freed following negotiations in July 2010 between the country's government and Cardinal Ortega.
The cardinal spoke during a Christmas reflecion at the cathedral in Havana and confirmed that the 52 dissidents detained in 2003 will all be released, reported ANSA news agency.
Forty of the prisoners freed so far were sent to Spain, while only one was allowed to remain in Cuba.
The leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya, has confirmed that prisoner of conscience Agustin Cervantes has started a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment he has been subjected to at the prison in Cucuni. The dissident claims he has been kept completely naked in solitary confinement for the past 15 days.
