Cuba releases several dissidents
Cuba on December 31 released several leading dissidents after detaining them overnight to prevent an unauthorized protest.
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| American businessman Alan Gross (left) at a press conference in Washington DC after being released by Cuba. Source: AFP/TTXVN |
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Among those released was artist Tania Bruguera, who organized the protest.
Earlier, police arrested several opposition political figures on the night of December 30 and placed others under house arrest before a protest outside the Cuban government office at Revolution Square in the capital, Havana.
Meanwhile, the Cuban opposition's Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation said more than 50 people had been arrested and about 10 of them were still being held overnight on December 31.
The arrests came two weeks after US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on December 17 that the two neighboring countries would restore diplomatic relations and end decades of hostility.
The US State Department in a statement expressed deep concern over reports of Cuban authorities detaining and arresting activists.
However, the statement did not signal that the incidents would derail a high-level visit by US officials to Havana in January to discuss restoring diplomatic relations.
According to Vietnam+
