Fate of jailed protesters dominates EU-Cuba talks

The European Union's special representative for human rights met Friday with the families of protesters jailed in Cuba for taking part in anti-government protests.

Eamon Gilmore told reporters in Cuba that the prisoners' situation was the dominant issue discussed during his visit, which is part of a 2017 EU-Cuba agreement calling for political dialogue and cooperation.

The trip comes more than two years after unprecedented anti-government protests in which thousands of Cubans took to the streets chanting "Freedom!" and "We are Hungry!" in reaction to economic strife, including shortages in food and medical supplies.

Havana has said around 500 people who took part in the protests were jailed, some for terms of up to 25 years, while human rights organizations put the number at 700.

The Irish diplomat said Friday that he met with "relatives of detainees" and discussed with the authorities issues concerning "the arrests that took place, the sentences that were imposed, some of them very long indeed."

Gilmore also met with President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Friday, with the Cuban leader saying he "ratified Cuba's firm commitment to the full realisation of all human rights".

Diaz-Canel said that just as "on previous occasions, differences of position were evident with respect to several of the issues addressed", but that "areas of coincidence were also identified that provide opportunities for cooperation".

Gilmore also said he spoke to authorities about the death on Sunday of a protester imprisoned since the demonstrations.

The 37-year-old man died in a Havana hospital where he had been transferred from prison, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Parents of imprisoned protesters told AFP on Thursday they had asked Gilmore to visit the prisons where their children are held.

"I want to advocate for my three children and for everyone," said Emilio Roman, the father of two sons aged 25 and 18 and a daughter aged 23. The two elder siblings had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and the youngest to five.

According to human rights groups and the US Embassy, Cuba is holding around 1,000 political prisoners, including those punished over the 2021 protests.