The Cuban government granted pardons to over 2,000 prisoners – including young people, women and people over the age of 60 – in light of Holy Week.

The Cuban government announced that it has granted pardons to 2,010 detainees ahead of Easter, after already releasing 14 prisoners less than a month ago.

This is a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” taking place “within the context of the religious celebrations of Holy Week,” the government stated in an official announcement broadcast on Cuban television.

Although neither the list of detainees nor the reason behind the decision has been provided, the statement specifies that those receiving the pardon have served “a significant part of their sentence” and have “shown good behavior in prison.”

Among the group are “young people, women, people over 60 years of age,” as well as “foreign nationals and Cuban citizens residing abroad,” the document explains.

The Cuban government, under pressure from Washington – also linked to the oil embargo – emphasized that the announced pardon would be “the fifth” granted since 2011. Since then, 11,000 people have reportedly benefited from such measures. (Vatican News)

Sathyadeepam Weekly