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Cuba to release 2,900 prisoners as goodwill gesture Cuba to release 2,900 prisoners as goodwill gesture
(40 minutes later)
Cuba says it will release 2,900 prisoners, including some convicted of political crimes, in the next few days.Cuba says it will release 2,900 prisoners, including some convicted of political crimes, in the next few days.
The country's governing body, the Council of State, said the move was a goodwill gesture after receiving "numerous" requests by relatives and religious institutions. President Raul Castro said the move was a goodwill gesture after receiving numerous requests by relatives and religious institutions.
It said many of those being released were unwell, women or elderly. Many of those being released are unwell, women or elderly.
But US national Alan Gross, convicted of crimes against the state, was not on the list, reports say. But US national Alan Gross, who is serving 15 years after being convicted of crimes against the state, is not among those to be freed.
Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal told the Associated Press that the American - jailed for taking internet equipment to the Communist-run island - "is not on the list".
Havana's refusal to free him has led to frozen relations with the United States.
Cuba's 'strength'
Mr Castro made the announcement in a speech at the National Assembly on Friday.
He said that 86 foreign prisoners from 25 countries would be freed, and that diplomats would be notified shortly.
The president also cited an upcoming visit by Pope Benedict XVI among the reasons for the amnesty, saying the humanitarian act showed Cuba's strength, AP reports.
Cuba's governing body, the Council of State, said some people convicted of crimes against "the security of the state" were on the list.
"All of them have completed an important portion of their sentence and shown good behaviour," read an official government statement quoted by Prensa Latina.
However, the authorities stressed that those convicted of serious crimes like murder, espionage or drug trafficking would not be part of the amnesty.
Last July, President Castro agreed after talks with Catholic Church leaders to free the 52 dissidents still behind bars after the crackdown in 2003.
The mass arrests that year, which became known as Cuba's Black Spring, provoked widespread international condemnation.
The European Union called off co-operation with the island, which was only officially resumed in 2008.
Cuba denies holding any political prisoners, saying they are mercenaries in the pay of the US aiming to destabilise the government.