The Roman Catholic Church in Cuba says the government of President Raúl Castro has agreed to release dozens of political prisoners over the next several weeks, raising hopes that numerous imprisoned journalists could be freed.
All those expected to be freed were jailed during the March 2003 crackdown against dissidents and independent journalists, a period that came to be known as the Black Spring.
According to the New York-based press watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the health of several imprisoned Cuban journalists has seriously deteriorated amid poor prison conditions and insufficient health care.
With 21 independent journalists currently in prison, Cuba is one of the world's worst jailers of journalists — behind only Iran and China.
Source: CPJ
