Leder af protestbevægelsen, Damer i Hvidt, er død i Cuba

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En af stifterne af dissidentbevægelsen Damer i Hvidt i Cuba døde fredag, 63 år gammel.

Laura Pollan var en af hovedkræfterne bag bevægelsen, som opstod for 10 år siden, da Castro-styret fængslede 75 mænd for at kritisere det kommunistiske regime.

Laura Pollan had been in hospital in the capital Havana for a week suffering from Dengue fever, writes BBC online.

She founded the group 10 years ago when her husband was jailed.

The group’s members, dressed in white, gathered in central Havana at the weekends to demand freedom for a group of 75 men imprisoned during government repression in 2003.

After being hospitalised, Pollan developed severe respiratory problems.

Initially composed of family members of those dissidents, the group later championed wider human rights issues, and continued to campaign for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba, even after all 75 were freed.

In 2005, the movement received the prestigeous Zacharov-Prize.