Cuba to Pardon Over 2,000 Prisoners Amid US Pressure

Cuba Announces Pardon of 2,010 Prisoners Ahead of Easter Holy Week

The Cuban government has announced the pardon of 2,010 prisoners as part of a humanitarian gesture. The decision was made during the country’s religious observances of Holy Week and is the second prisoner amnesty this year.

According to state-run Granma newspaper, the pardons were granted based on careful analysis of the crimes committed by those convicted, their good conduct in prison, and their state of health. The Cuban government has consistently rejected suggestions that it makes decisions under US pressure.

The announcement comes as the United States increases pressure on Cuba’s leadership, with the Trump administration calling for a change of government in communist-run Cuba. However, the two sides have held talks recently.

Cuba’s top diplomat in Washington publicly invited the US government to help overhaul its crippled economy as part of ongoing negotiations that have yet to yield results. The Trump administration has also called for economic and political reforms in Cuba.

The Cuban presidency said that those released would not include anyone convicted of murder, sex assault, drug-related crimes, theft, illegal slaughter of livestock, or crimes against authority. Foreigners and Cuban citizens residing abroad are among those being pardoned.

This is the fifth time since 2011 that Cuba has pardoned prisoners, totalling more than 11,000. The government said that the decision was part of a customary practice within its criminal justice system and a reflection of the humanitarian legacy of the Revolution.

The pardon announcement coincides with Russia’s decision to send a second oil tanker to Cuba after Trump eased an effective oil blockade to allow entry of a first shipment.

Source: Al Jazeera