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Cuba pardons 787 prisoners after pope's call for mercy
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Tue Nov 15, 2016 | 2:43pm EST
Cuba pardons 787 prisoners after pope's call for mercy
Cuba has pardoned 787 convicts in response to Pope Francis' Holy Year call to all heads of state for acts of clemency, the ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma reported on Tuesday.
Those pardoned include women, youths, people who are ill and "other categories," according to Granma. A list of names has not been made public.
Cuba, which has denied that it has political prisoners, said those convicted of murder, rape, child abuse and drug trafficking would be excluded from the pardons.
Pope Francis chose the theme of mercy for the Holy Year that Roman Catholics began celebrating last December. The period, officially proclaimed by the pontiff as the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, will end on Sunday.
Earlier this month in Vatican City, during a special Jubilee mass for prisoners, Pope Francis asked authorities worldwide to consider "the possibility of carrying out an act of clemency towards prisoners they think can benefit from such a provision".
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Cuba pardons 787 prisoners after pope's call for mercy
Cuba has pardoned 787 convicts in response to Pope Francis' Holy Year call to all heads of state for acts of clemency, the ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma reported on Tuesday.
Those pardoned include women, youths, people who are ill and "other categories," according to Granma. A list of names has not been made public.
Cuba, which has denied that it has political prisoners, said those convicted of murder, rape, child abuse and drug trafficking would be excluded from the pardons.
Pope Francis chose the theme of mercy for the Holy Year that Roman Catholics began celebrating last December. The period, officially proclaimed by the pontiff as the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, will end on Sunday.
Earlier this month in Vatican City, during a special Jubilee mass for prisoners, Pope Francis asked authorities worldwide to consider "the possibility of carrying out an act of clemency towards prisoners they think can benefit from such a provision".
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-prisoners-idUSKBN13A1QI