September 18 | 0 COMMENTS print
Cuba to free prisoners ahead of Pope’s visit
Cuba has said it will release more than 3500 prisoners in a goodwill gesture ahead of a visit by Pope Francis this weekend.
However the Cuban police have also detained more than 50 people who took part in a march calling on the island’s communist government to release political prisoners.
The government in Havana says those that will be freed include inmates due for conditional release next year, as well as a number of foreign prisoners. Those found guilty of crimes against state security will not be eligible, ruling out several high-profile political prisoners.
The Pope arrives in Cuba for a three-day visit on Saturday.