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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Cuban dissidents travel to Spain | Cuban dissidents travel to Spain |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The dissidents' families had been told to prepare to leave at short notice | The dissidents' families had been told to prepare to leave at short notice |
| Seven political prisoners freed by Cuba are on two flights bound for Spain to start a new life in exile. | |
| The dissidents were driven to Havana airport, to be reunited with family members leaving with them. | |
| They are the first of 52 detainees to be set free under a deal brokered last week by the Catholic Church and Spain. | |
| Just hours before the dissidents left, former President Fidel Castro made a rare appearance on state television. | |
| The 83-year-old spoke at length on international affairs but did not mention the dissidents. | |
| The Cuban government has agreed to free all 52 of the prisoners, who were jailed in 2003, in the coming months. At least 20 said to have expressed a desire to go to Spain. | |
| Spanish officials say they will not be required to stay in the country and will be free to head elsewhere. Both the US and Chile have offered them asylum. | |
| Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCHRNR), has said at least three prisoners have told the Church that they want to remain in Cuba. | Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCHRNR), has said at least three prisoners have told the Church that they want to remain in Cuba. |
| Continued protests | Continued protests |
| The former prisoners were reunited with their wives and children late on Monday. Spanish consular officials at the airport interviewed them one by one and then granted them visas. | The former prisoners were reunited with their wives and children late on Monday. Spanish consular officials at the airport interviewed them one by one and then granted them visas. |
| Fidel Castro made no mention of the prisoner issue in his 90-minute interview, but few believe that the two events are unconnected. | |
| Fidel Castro's timely TV interview | |
| In a phone call from Havana airport, one of the freed men, Omar Ruiz, told the Associated Press: "I won't consider myself free until I arrive in Spain." | |
| In the hours before their departure, relatives had been told to prepare to leave Cuba at a moment's notice. | In the hours before their departure, relatives had been told to prepare to leave Cuba at a moment's notice. |
| "Sunday they performed medical check-ups, did paperwork for the passports and told us to be ready starting today," Irene Viera, the wife of community organiser Julio Cesar Galvez, told AP. | "Sunday they performed medical check-ups, did paperwork for the passports and told us to be ready starting today," Irene Viera, the wife of community organiser Julio Cesar Galvez, told AP. |
| "I'm very nervous about all of this," she said. "I can finally see him without it being in prison for the first time in years." | "I'm very nervous about all of this," she said. "I can finally see him without it being in prison for the first time in years." |
| The seven men are travelling on two flights. One, operated by Air Europa, is due in Madrid at 1300 local time (1100 GMT) with six of the dissidents and their families on board. | |
| They are Lester Gonzalez, Omar Ruiz, Antonio Villarreal, Julio Cesar Galvez, Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Pablo Pacheco, the Spanish news agency Efe reported. | |
| The second, operated by Iberia, carrying journalist Ricardo Gonzalez and his family, is expected to touch down an hour later. | |
| The Ladies in White's fight to secure the release of all dissidents goes on | |
| Mr Gonzalez's wife told the BBC on Monday that one of the first things they would do after arriving would be to go for a long walk together. | |
| The prisoner release announced last Wednesday could become the biggest this decade on the communist-ruled island. | The prisoner release announced last Wednesday could become the biggest this decade on the communist-ruled island. |
| Under the agreement, 52 political prisoners should be freed in the coming months. | Under the agreement, 52 political prisoners should be freed in the coming months. |
| All were part of a group of 75 dissidents rounded up in 2003 and sentenced to jail terms of between six and 28 years. The other 23 have already been freed. | All were part of a group of 75 dissidents rounded up in 2003 and sentenced to jail terms of between six and 28 years. The other 23 have already been freed. |
| On Sunday, a group of the wives and mothers of the political prisoners - known as the Ladies in White - staged their weekly march through Havana calling for the release of all political prisoners. | |
| The leader of the Ladies in White said their marches would continue. | The leader of the Ladies in White said their marches would continue. |
| "While there is one political prisoner or prisoner of conscience, there will be Ladies in White," Laura Pollan said. | "While there is one political prisoner or prisoner of conscience, there will be Ladies in White," Laura Pollan said. |
| Before Monday's releases there was a total of 167 "prisoners of conscience" in Cuba, according to the CCHRNR. | Before Monday's releases there was a total of 167 "prisoners of conscience" in Cuba, according to the CCHRNR. |
| Cuba has always denied that it has political prisoners, describing them as criminals paid by the US to destabilise the country. | Cuba has always denied that it has political prisoners, describing them as criminals paid by the US to destabilise the country. |