Cuban dissident group seeks meeting with Pope Francis during visit

Cuban dissident group seeks meeting with Pope Francis during visit
The Ladies in White, wives and relatives of former political prisoners,
submit request with evidence that activists 'have been victims of
repression' recently
Thursday 9 July 2015 20.05 BST Last modified on Thursday 9 July 2015
20.11 BST

A prominent Cuban dissident group has asked to meet Pope Francis during
his upcoming visit to Cuba in September, its leader said on Thursday.

The Ladies in White, made up of the wives and relatives of former
political prisoners, visited the Vatican's mission in Cuba to submit
their request.

Group leader Berta Soler said she has passed along information about
human rights in Cuba to Vatican officials, including "evidence of ladies
and activists who have been victims of repression in recent weeks".

She has also expressed concern that the government will prevent
dissidents from attending the pope's masses while in the communist country.

Ladies in White is the only group in the single-party country permitted
to stage weekly marches in a specific area.

The Ladies in White was created after the so-called "black spring" of
2003, when Cuban authorities rounded up 75 dissidents and sentenced them
to lengthy prison terms.

During his visit to the island in September, the pope is scheduled to
give two outdoor masses, one in Havana.

He is also set to meet with President Raúl Castro, who recently began a
warming of ties with the US alongside President Barack Obama, after
decades of enmity.

The Vatican was a key interlocutor in the secret negotiations that
preceded the thaw.

Pope Francis will travel to the US after the Cuba visit.

Source: Cuban dissident group seeks meeting with Pope Francis during
visit | World news | The Guardian -
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/cuba-dissidents-pope-francis-ladies-in-white