Cuba agrees to free political prisoner

(June 12, 2010) Roman Catholic leaders announced Friday 11^th of June that Cuban authorities have agreed to free an ill political prisoner and transfer six others to jails nearer home, the latest in a rare series of concessions from a government not known for its tolerance of dissent. The decision means freedom for Ariel Sigler, one of 75 activists, community organizers and journalists arrested in a 2003 crackdown. Sigler, who was serving a 25-year sentence for treason, has been hospitalized recently for an unknown ailment. Six other prisoners are to be moved to jails closer to their homes, bringing to 12 the number of imprisoned dissidents sent to new facilities this month. These six men were serving terms ranging between 12 and 25 years. The release of Sigler is very good news said Elizardo Sanchez, who heads the Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation. The moves, announced by the office of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega, are set to take place Saturday. They come just days before a visit to Cuba by the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti. Opposition and church leaders had expressed hope the communist government might make concessions ahead of the trip, the first to Cuba by a top Vatican official since Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state to Pope Benedict XVI, visited the island in February 2008.