Francisco Chaviano Gonzalez, a former teacher, was sentenced in 1995 and was released on parole on Friday, August 10, human rights activists said.
The independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) said that he was Cuba’s longest-serving political prisoner. Cuban officials refused to comment on Chaviano’s release.
In a statement the group welcomed his release, but cautioned that the Cuban government had violated its own laws by keeping him in prison for so long. Chiaviano Gonzalez was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 1994 for revealing state secrets that jeopardized national security. It was unclear what prompted his early release, but there has been growing international pressure on Cuba to release him and other dissidents.
FALLING SHORT
Human rights group Amnesty International (AI) has described his military trial "as falling short of international standards."
There are still over 200 political prisoners in Cuba, who are generally held under "inhumane and degrading" conditions, the group added. They include Christian dissidents, BosNewsLife established.
Former political prisoner, Martha Beatriz Roque, told reporters Friday, August 10 at the residence of a top US diplomat in Havana, that many detainees suffer of "a lack of medical care, overcrowding and intimidation."
She was joined by relatives of a number of dissidents currently in jail, news reports said.
PRISONERS DOWN
However the number of political prisoners in Cuba has reportedly fallen by about 20 percent since Raul Castro, brother of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, was named as ‘acting president’ just over a year ago, according to human rights watchers.
Fidel Castro has always denied the existence of political prisoners and dissidents, saying they are "counter-revolutionary mercenaries" serving the interests of the United States.
Also on Friday, another former political prisoner, Martha Beatriz Roque, held a news conference to denounce prison conditions. 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.
