GENEVA -- (EFE) -- There were 1,173 political prisoners in Cuba last July, according to a list released Thursday by the United Nations' special reporter on human rights in Cuba, Carl-Johan Groth.
The list was based on reports from Cuban organizations, mainly based in the United States. Groth has been barred by the Cuban government from visiting the island.
Groth said the number of people reportedly imprisoned in Cuba for political crimes was somewhat less in 1996 than in previous years.
But he added that ``threats, punishment for alleged economic crimes and visits of intimidation to the homes of opposition sympathizers and independent journalists have not disappeared.''
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