Cuba sets free Darsi Ferrer in Havana

Taken from "beforerumors.com" from June 23, 2010 post

The Cuban prisoner Darsi Ferrer is already released. After spending 11 months on remand and numerous protests by his situation, so yesterday was tried by a court in Havana, coinciding with the unprecedented process of open dialogue between the Cuban Catholic Church and the government of Raul Castro, now has allowed the release of political prisoner Ariel Sigler Amaya. Ferrer was arrested in 2009 for an alleged crime of illegal purchase of construction materials, and prosecutors asked for him three years in prison for “receiving” and “bombing.” The court sentenced him to 15 months, but allowed him to perform on his home the four remaining months of sanction under the regime of “probation.”
The dialogue between the Church and the regime has helped release. “It was the predictable,” he said yesterday human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez. For him, the release of Ferrer “deals” with the process of dialogue between the Church and the Government, even though his case is different from that of prisoners of conscience from the Group of 75. “The current line of the government is leaving the problem of prisoners,” he says, after stating that there will be “more prisoner releases and movements” in the coming weeks. Ferrer is a doctor, is 40 and began military opposition a decade ago. He became known for its street actions, especially the marches organized in a central park in Havana 10 December to mark the World Day of Human Rights. For his opposition activities was arrested on numerous occasions, but the arrests were always short. It was only the July 21, 2009. That day he was detained and questioned about the provenance of some building materials seized in a pre-registration at home. Ferrer was charged with receiving, for having “illegally acquired” two bags of cement, aluminum windows and several plates of iron which would reform the home. In addition, the office was accused of an attack by an alleged physical assault on a person in your neighborhood. During the 11 months he spent in prison, Ferrer made several protests and hunger strikes to demand that his trial. In early 2010, Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience. The resolution of the case Ferrer takes place in a special moment, when the Catholic Church stars in a mediation process that has already yielded its first fruits. Ariel Sigler Amaya, the first of those released, received last week a U.S. humanitarian visa to receive medical attention. Might be the way to continue other released, according to some analysts.