Cuban Hunger Strikers Claim Victory

HAVANA TIMES — Martha Beatriz Roque and 29 other Cuban dissidents terminated their hunger strike of more than a week on Tuesday after authorities communicated the pending release of the imprisoned activist they had championed.

State Security in Villa Clara, in the center of the island, informed the wife of Jorge Vázquez Chaviano that the dissident will be released shortly, reported DPA news.

Roque and 12 other dissidents had started their hunger strike a week ago Monday demanding the release of Vázquez Chaviano, among other demands. The opposition accused the government of Raul Castro of not respecting its own laws to keep imprisoned activist, who was supposed to be released from prison on September 9th.

Several other dissidents across the country and joined the protest in recent days.

Vázquez Chaviano had been arrested several times in recent months, most recently in the framework of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI at the end of March. He had been sentenced to jail for “illegal economic activities.”

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See Cuban government’s response to the hunger strike: