Two political prisoners were released Saturday, February 12 against their will in Cuba. Hector Maseda and Angel Moya are among the fifty-two political prisoners that President Raul Castro agreed to release as part of an agreement reached in July, following an intervention by the Cuban Catholic Church.
Hector Maseda, whose wife, Laura Pollan, leads the group Ladies in White, an organization that retroupe women imprisoned dissidents, was told Friday he could leave prison after nearly eight years behind bars. He said then he would not leave his cell until the government insist that it is a freedom "conditional".
He said he was led out of prison on Saturday, against his will, and is now on parole. "Today, tomorrow and every time I say that I was released against my will and I was forced to leave. I do not agree with parole." Aged 68, Hector Maseda leads the Liberal Party, banned in Cuba. This journalist and engineer, who wrote in the columns of the World and American newspapers like the New York Times and the New Herald, who also worked with the organization Reporters Without Borders.
He pledged to resume his opposition activities. Angel Moya, whose wife Berta Soler is also a leader of the Ladies in White, was released several hours later. He previously refused to leave prison as would not release the entire fifty-two detainees covered by the agreement of last July. This 46-year-old dissident said he was forced to leave.
When he arrived at his home near Havana, hundreds of government supporters welcomed him with chants of "Long live Fidel, Long live the revolution." "These people who are screaming over today we applaud tomorrow," he responded. After the release of Hector Maseda and Angel Moya, there are only seven jailed dissidents among the fifty-two covered by the agreement.
The seven dissidents refuse to go into exile abroad, unlike what has been done forty other previously released political prisoners, who went to Spain. Others have chosen exile in the United States. All these personalities were imprisoned during a crackdown in 2003, during which seventy-five opponents were arrested and sentenced to terms ranging from 6 to 28 years in prison.
The opposition says there are still hundreds of political prisoners in Cuba. The government rejects that term and says that they are "mercenaries" in the pay of the United States. 
Hector Maseda, whose wife, Laura Pollan, leads the group Ladies in White, an organization that retroupe women imprisoned dissidents, was told Friday he could leave prison after nearly eight years behind bars. He said then he would not leave his cell until the government insist that it is a freedom "conditional".
He said he was led out of prison on Saturday, against his will, and is now on parole. "Today, tomorrow and every time I say that I was released against my will and I was forced to leave. I do not agree with parole." Aged 68, Hector Maseda leads the Liberal Party, banned in Cuba. This journalist and engineer, who wrote in the columns of the World and American newspapers like the New York Times and the New Herald, who also worked with the organization Reporters Without Borders.
He pledged to resume his opposition activities. Angel Moya, whose wife Berta Soler is also a leader of the Ladies in White, was released several hours later. He previously refused to leave prison as would not release the entire fifty-two detainees covered by the agreement of last July. This 46-year-old dissident said he was forced to leave.
When he arrived at his home near Havana, hundreds of government supporters welcomed him with chants of "Long live Fidel, Long live the revolution." "These people who are screaming over today we applaud tomorrow," he responded. After the release of Hector Maseda and Angel Moya, there are only seven jailed dissidents among the fifty-two covered by the agreement.
The seven dissidents refuse to go into exile abroad, unlike what has been done forty other previously released political prisoners, who went to Spain. Others have chosen exile in the United States. All these personalities were imprisoned during a crackdown in 2003, during which seventy-five opponents were arrested and sentenced to terms ranging from 6 to 28 years in prison.
The opposition says there are still hundreds of political prisoners in Cuba. The government rejects that term and says that they are "mercenaries" in the pay of the United States.
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