Havana, Cuba, Mar 23, 2011 / 00:32 am
After unprecedented talks with the Catholic Church, Cuban officials have agreed to release the last of a large group of political prisoners who were jailed during a repressive wave in the country nearly eight years ago.
Felix Navarro and Jose Daniel Ferrer – activists who had each been sentenced to 25 years in jail – are the last dissidents to be freed under an agreement President Raul Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana reached in July of 2010.
The release is the latest of several, following a landmark dialogue between Cuban officials and the country's Catholic leaders. In 2003, 75 dissidents – including prominent intellectuals, opposition leaders and activists – were arrested for what the local communist government viewed as treason.
The prisoners have reportedly suffered harsh conditions while incarcerated, with some going on hunger strikes as a sign of protest.