In a statement, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said the refugees will "soon be traveling" to Budapest. Hungarian news agency MTI quoted Foreign Ministry official Marta Fekszi Horvath as saying that a delegation from the ministry had visited Guantanamo, "where it met a group of refugees and briefed them on life in Hungary."
The 29 are among 44 Cubans at Guantanamo, some of whom have been held there for over two years. They were caught by United States authorities at sea and prevented from reaching US shores. Under the deal reached with Hungary, the US has agreed to cover the refugees’ “adjustment costs” including winter clothes, language courses and rent for a year, MTI reported.
MTI said many of those detained were "opposition figures" in Cuba and would be persecuted if they were sent back. There are currently still over 200 political prisoners in Cuba, who are generally held under "inhumane and degrading" conditions, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN). Those held include Christian dissidents, BosNewsLife established.
HUNGER STRIKE
Seventeen of the 29 refugees expected to arrive in Hungary held a three-week hunger strike until Friday, August 17, to protest the conditions of their detention and to demand admission to the United States.
The Cubans ended their hunger strike after finding out that Hungary would take most of them. All political parties in parliament and the Socialist-led government are reportedly supporting the arrival of Cuban refugees.
Hungary, a former Communist nation itself, has been involved in human rights discussions, hosting the Center for Democratic Transition in Budapest, aimed at improving democratic reforms in Communist and other current and former autocratic nations.
